Interpretting Lifes Instruction Manual III

The Third and last installment of my Interpretation of what I believe to be key to developing as a christian. I pull direction straight from the bible, here is the quote again. "For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 5-8
I have completed quick researches of the key words in the bible, and certainly there are other quotes of scripture to explain the qualities talked about by Peter. Persevere to do research, add to your knowledge, and grow in the name of the Lord. The last of these qualities are godliness(little "g"), brotherly kindness, and love. For godliness we can really get in to some debate, for we should never place ourselves equal to God, nor above our fellow man/woman. I think that we should not focus on developing perfection. However, we should walk our christian walk as Jesus and to the best of our ability. "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. That doesn't mean that we should just give up and not try. We wash our cars because they get dirty, knowing that they will get dirty again and need to be rewashed. The same goes for many things in our life, our houses, our bodies, our animals. This is true of our spiritual selves as well. As we try to live godly lives we sin, (get dirty) and need to be washed (forgiven) over and over. We learn the basics of what sin is and hopefully we develop and learn  to not repeat them, as we grow we notice other nuances in life that the Holy Spirit draws our attention to and labels as sin. Godly is defined as conforming to the laws and wishes of God, it does not mean placing ourselves up on a pedestal and acting better than anyone else. If therefore, you are conforming to the laws and wishes of God, then you will be working on brotherly kindness. Brotherly kindness I believe is going through this short life of ours and paying attention to others. I drive my family absolutely nuts, talking to strangers all the time. How else are you suppose to give brotherly kindness unless your paying attention to your brother? If he has fallen, help him up, if she is struggling offer a helping hand. Just go through life not with your head down racing to the finish line, but with your eyes open, looking, watching. Then there's love. John instructs, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." 1John 4:7 Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" John 13:34 Stearn warnings from the bible if you do not abide by this principle, "If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." 1John 4:20
All these principles that are talked about by Peter are guidelines we should instill in all our lives. I want to add to them in increasing measure every day of my life. I am not a perfect person, far from it in fact. I sin daily, I trip, I fall, I get back up and keep on going. It is imperative that we do not quit! For even as Jesus carried the cross and stumble he kept going, and he was headed to death! We can have peace and joy here on Earth. Upon receiving it though, we need to spread it out to others, "Give as freely as you have received!" Matthew 10:8.  If we try to  simple things everyday to improve upon them, we can't help but add them in increasing measure. Personally I want to walk my walk closer to God, he's got AWESOME plans for all of us. Have a wonderful Easter and may we all be renewed in the spirit as we delve deeper into our lives.
Thanks for letting me put thought to blog, and thanks for reading.

Interpretting Lifes Instruction Manual II

I'm trying to interpret, and work out in my own mind, basic instructions that Peter gave us. I believe this is the foundation of how we are to go about fulfilling our purpose, and growing as a Christian. I quote the scripture that caused a "light bulb" moment, and then break it down referencing other scripture to understand it better.
"For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 5-8

Self-Control, whew that's a difficult one. It's the one thing that as an imperfect human being I lack greatly and that covers a broad range of areas in my life. I smoke, I consume some alcohol, I'm overweight, I cry for different reasons at the drop of a hate, I am quick to anger at different times, on different issues. I can't control my tongue and often say the wrong thing. It seems this may be something that you do learn in increasing measure with age, as long as you can identify that whatever it is that you have an impulse issue with is a problem that needs to be worked on. I am working on the food issue now. I've found that there's certain foods that adversely effect my body and therefore must be avoided. There's soda, I've quit drinking that even in the face of an obvious addiction. I'm working on smoking less, quitting eventually. Self-control, is keeping your house neat instead of flopping down in front of the tv, maybe filtering the types of shows you watch. Spending too much, using profanity, being lazy, working too hard, being too silent. These are all things that we can control ourselves. So what does the bible say about self-control. My favorite verse is this one; "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with temptation he also will provide a way of escape, that you will be able to endure it." 1 Corinthians 10-13. Training for a 5k, one cannot ignore this one; "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Let us live our lives, striving to be better and resisting evil.
The desires of our fragile human bodies can lead to a "back sliding" if we have no self-control. So once we have begun to mastered self-control we must continue on, or persevere. I say begin because it's a never ending process. I am in the middle of several self-control projects. Very much like my craft hobbies, always starting one before finishing another while in the middle of a third and completing the fourth. It's definitely never boring, I often wonder if I have some ADD issues. No one says that you complete one virtue and move on to the next, for that would suggest that you could finish, and finishing would imply perfection which, as long as we inhabit earth we cannot have. Perseverance it is told leads to rewards in heaven. I think this is one of the hardest lessons to learn. To learn it you have to experience pain, persecution, and sometimes loneliness in your life. When I was down and felt like I was being kicked, bruised and beaten it was exhausting, and to hold on was, I thought, impossible. There was a moment where I gave up and turned from God, thinking I did nothing to deserve this, why was I enduring his wrath? Like Peter I took my eyes off God and immediately my solid footing disappeared and I found myself drowning. In hindsight, I had it wrong. God uses adversity to mold my character. Often to get weeds out of the garden we need to til the whole think up, strip it bare of every plant. Then we can sow our seeds in nurturing soil, free from those nutrient sucking weeds. He says, "lean not on your own understanding", so let me draw on the everlasting life giving words of the bible. "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9. And if we can learn perseverance "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12.
So continue on learning, and with your struggles, knowing that He never leaves you. He never stops loving you. Just as those of you who are parents mold your own children, so he molds us. The glorious riches that await us in heaven come at a steep price, that we pay here on earth. Take heed my friends that even though we are his lambs, the evil one waits to try to lay waste upon the herd. "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8
I leave this train of thought with a message to my "health" stars. So as they treat their bodies like temples they don't forget..."For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." 1Timothy 4:8

Interpretting Lifes Instuction Manual

If your anything like the rest of us, then perhaps you felt drawn to God, went to church, were saved, maybe even baptised. Upon returning home you sit down and wonder, well now what. What's it all for, where do I go from here? I know certain truths  in my life, I know that I'm a believer saved by the blood of Jesus, God's son who was sent to die in my place so that I may live an eternal live in heaven. I know that once saved you can't continue on being the same person you were. I know that although there are struggles in life being a Christian, there are also blessings. Life, I do believe, is the most unrandom thing in the universe. Everything is orchestrated, connected and aligned, throw free will in there and whoa momma, tell me again how God isn't awesome. I can't even wrap my mind around how he knows the things he knows. So, there I sit doing my bible study one day, when a most disturbing thought crosses my mind. I am not going to bore you with the details of what the question was or the journey that I took to find the answer. Suffice it to say that it took me the rest of the morning until I was satisfied, and then I stumbled across the most life changing, light bulb moment words I have ever found in this wonderful book. You may think the bible is a bunch of hooey, but in all actuality if you know your history at all, tons of historical facts have been proven through the bible. Let me get back on track before I lose myself in a tangent of evidence. So there it is, the ultimate step by step guide on how to live, and  the order in which to work things out for yourself. My translation quotes it as follows:
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. -2Peter 1:3-8
I have underlined the parts that stood out to me on the day I first read them. Next I will break it down, not  for your benefit, but for mine. For I truly believe the Holy Spirit spoke to me that day and gave to me the key elements for "everything we need for life". I have been on the path to return joy to my life. Somewhere in the hussle and bussle I misplaced it. I questioned why we were here, why we have to go through so many troubles, why we go through pain and hard times. I have always believed that we are put here to serve a purpose, but exactly what that purpose is and how we are to go about finding it and fulfilling it had escaped me. So here we go.
First and foremost you must have faith. Faith that God does exist, that he sacrificed his one and only son so that we might have a relationship with him. Without Jesus we could never be good enough to be with God. The Jewish people have proven that, time and time again. They are his chosen people, the ones that could, if they followed the law exactly, have a wonderful love relationship with him. He has done great things for them, proven that he exists and loves them, and yet, they have fallen short of his holiness.  Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as this, "... faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." The instructions put to words by Peter rely on the fact that you have faith above all else.
Once your faith has been "nailed down" so to speak, then you should build upon it goodness. Don't we all strive to be "good" so that we may be loved. Many christians I know believe wholeheartedly that after you are saved, all you have to do is be good. Their belief in this simple version limits their whole life to the fact that, after goodness what is there? Their theory on life is we are saved, then we're instructed to be good until we go to heaven. There is so much more to life than that, there is so much more to live for. Life is not simply a crap shoot, and then things (good or bad) just happen! He loves us, he created us for his good purpose. To sit idly by and watch life pass, good, bad, whatever is a huge waste of what could be an amazing life! However, it is an important trait. Right up there ranked number two.
After we agree on goodness, we must look at knowledge. What kind of knowledge, you might ask. I theorize that knowledge in the Lord Almighty is the answer. He is The Way after all. Some argue that it is not our place to have His knowledge. I on the other hand think it's hardwired into some of us. Perfection, completely unrealistic here on earth, but practice makes perfect. I think our time on earth is our practice. I decided to ask around a little about knowledge of God. After just a few minutes of research and some picking of brains in my chatroom of friends, I think this could in fact bring up so much debate that I will defer to Peter, who, put the answer right there for us. No way to overthink it if the answers right there. Simply stated, His power gives me everything through my knowledge of him. It's right there, it's a promise. You see, God is a creator, that's what he does. He didn't simply create the universe, world, everything in it and then call it quits. John 5:17 - But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working still, and I am working." Back to this "step"; knowledge of him... I think, knowledge of him is something we need to develop. It's a close and loving relationship to him. Not as a child desires knowledge of their parent, but as a spouse desires knowledge of their soulmate. We simply cannot and do not know everything about our other half, everyday we learn new things about them. We develop, we change, we adapt, and we thirst for knowledge. I concede that I do not know everything about God, my husband, my children, my parents. The only ones that I will ever get close to having full knowledge of is  my husband (because I have a lifetime to get to know him, and my God(because I have a lifetime and more to get to know him.) The difference is my husband grows and changes daily. My God is unchanging, but infinite. Maybe this is the reason the bible references the bridegroom, because our love is neverending and unquenchable for our soulmate and it is easier to equate a passionate desire for God this way. Don't get me wrong, I love my children, my friends, my family, but my husband is a constant in my life for as long as we both shall live.
And to this knowledge I will practice self-control, and cut this post short so that I may achieve some domestic goals. Until next time.

Continuing my Operation Organization!

After weeks of organizers block (akin to writers block) I have my next project.
I've been wanting to do my pantry for weeks, so with my husband out on a job for a little while, I'm attacking it! 
  

Before, what a mess!


 

Just keep a'piling



 




















After: an organized pantry! Minus the paint job and cool matching containers I think it looks mucho better.

I used the template from http://www.dogsdonteatpizza.com/, Thanks Karen for somehow having the same pantry layout. Mine's just the mini version. Then started putting things where they would fit for me. The hardest part was moving the last shelf, and all those little canned goods. All in all I think it took be about 2.5 hours.  I still have some decorative elements I'd like to do but those are projects for another day. 

Tonight, I'm still thinking but perhaps I'll attack the bedroom closets.



It's a new week, it's a new you!

What a wonderful day it is today! I woke up with a grateful heart, went to the Y at 5:30 am, successfully completed my week 5 part I on podrunners 1day to 5k. Love that DJ Beatsmith! If you're just starting out on it, I can guarantee that if you push yourself through week 4 and succeed, there's no stopping you! I feel wonderful for the first time in a long time. Almost normal. The rest of this post is a little personal and I am sorry for the graphic detail, that may prove just tmi for some people. However, I feel it is important. For the last 5 yrs I suffered with diarrhea symptoms, almost everyday for 5 years! The doctor tried to put me on cholesterol medicine I didn't need, because a common side effect was the opposite of the symptoms I was experiencing. Not once did the man suggest I change my diet, not once did he even try to send me to a specialist. This is the health care we routinely receive in America's rural communities. Through lots of research and talking openly with friends, I decided to try changing my diet. ( Thank you Charleen!)  I cut out flour, and sugar. Absolutely no gluten allowed, (cornflour is ok) and no processed sugar. Some (not a lot) sugar substitute is ok, honey and maple is ok too(not the cheap store ones that's not real maple syrup). 3 weeks now, and no symptoms!!! I feel like a new woman I tell ya! The next thing I tackled immediately was the itchies, every time I got out of the shower I was attacked with itching all over, severe burning itch me now kind of itching. Some suggested no fragrance body soap, ok, tried that, still itching. Then I was googling, Why do I itch when I get out of the shower, ...kind of a last ditch effort, and ran across an article on SLS. I'm not going to rant on here, but if you've ever experienced that mind blowing itching all over you may want to google SLS also. The stuff is horrible, and it's in every soap we use. Shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste you name it. What's really bad and I will share this, what it does to lab rats is unreal. From hair loss to cancer! Manufacturers know this but they keep using it in our products! You can find products without it but you have to read the label. Today's lesson, read the labels!!! For God's sake, act as if your life depends on it, because at some point it will. If I have found out one thing it's that as we age apparently we are more susceptible to what we put in and on our bodies. Stop letting companies get away with sending us straight to the doctor who in turn does his/her part to support the pharmaceuticals but putting us on unneeded medications! Take your life into your own hands and educate yourself! I love you all too much to see you suffer like I have and not say anything. Until next time, get healthy and stay that way. GET UP AND MOVE PEOPLE! Don't be .....like this....

Morrow Challenge

Good Day everyone! I hope this finds you all well. I spent a wonderful weekend with family. You know sometimes when we get together with family members we don't get to see on a regular weekly basis, we have a tendency to scrutinize. I believe it's time to challenge my family. I have been looking at them with Papa's eyes the last few family functions I have attended. Family meant everything to him. My grandfather was not a rich man, and as a parent he made mistakes, but let me tell you as a grandfather, he could do no wrong. Back in the day we would gather together for holidays, birthdays, everyone's birthdays...not just close relatives, I don't remember a lot of friends being at my birthdays, but I do remember everyone in my family being there. The cousins were close then, we would go over to grandma's and play together. Spend all day Christmas there. Oh how I love them all. Well as time goes, I grew up, joined the Navy, moved away, and everyone grew up. We grew a little distanced after 20 years, who wouldn't? We all have our own families, jobs, in-laws families, but I'm going to put in my plea to the Morrows especially. Don't  go through life saying, I don't have time, I have to do something else. We are blood, we need each others love and support. When there's a family function and there's advance notice, suck it up, take the day off if you have to, and let's get together, and show grandpa that we still love and respect each other. Even if we raise our kids different or have different lifestyles. Unconditional love that's what you get in a family. It's a small amount of time to give to each other to show our children that ...when things happen in life we can depend on family. We can listen to each others gripes, we can lean on each other for support, we can pray for each other, we can take what we're good at and lead by example. Best of all, we can share moments of joy, happiness, and love, there is just so little of that now adays. Love each other, take time for each other. I have been gone too long but I we are all the same people we once were deep down. Aunt's, uncles, cousins, in-laws or not, if you are tied to a Morrow, you are family. This year let's work on rebuilding those family ties. Birthday parties, cookouts, holidays, showers, graduations. If I was closer, I would say the occassional football game, choir concert, play.

On a side note, with Jamie's and Justins shower complete, now it's time to buckle down and train for this 5k. I have been eating a flour free, and sugar free diet and my digestive symptoms are subsiding. If your struggling with arthritis pain, fibromyalgia, or any kind of digestion problems try eliminating these two things from your diet, and keep a log of how you feel. It's a success so far for me and the more research I do on the subject the more I'm disgusted at how the doctors seem to miss telling you this.

Ashley "Tobin" I am also putting that beautiful angel of yours quilt at the top of my list this week. Don't want her to be getting it on her graduation. Jennifer, I'll be doing Ruby's next! Oh what beautiful babies you all have.  Melissa, you too! Go see Randee she has some left behind Christmas gifts for yours. Sorry we missed you this weekend.

Love to all of you! And may God bless this project of mind, I definately believe it's a God-sized task. Have a wonderful day. Until next time.

Shifting Gears

1st Gear
Well I know you have noticed by now that I'm not exactly following along with posting all my organizing helpful hints like I wanted to. This is a direct product of someone who has lost the ability to do organizing, trying to help others, and failing at their feeble attempt to gain some of that skill back. Yep, I call it like I see it, even when it comes to myself.
2nd Gear
Today's rant is brought to you by our wonderful medical society. I don't have much faith in doctors these days. Seems all they want to do is write you prescriptions and treat symptoms instead of looking for the cause. For instance, I just heard yesterday that a gluten free/sugar free diet will alleviate the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Is it true? If it is why don't doctors first tell you to try that instead of giving you pain relievers? I'm on the horizon of a new dawn, and will keep you updated. The side effect of eating like this is not as long as the side effects possible with medicines. It may, alleviate symptoms, cause weight loss, lower blood pressure, raise metabolism, causing weight loss. I'm sure they're many others, I will keep you posted.
3rd Gear
I really am not in a hurry to do my taxes. We set everything up so that the government does not get any of our money for no interest. Which means...you guessed it sometimes we owe a little, some times we get a little back, most times we owe state and get a federal refund.
4th Gear
Trying to train for this 5k is killing me! I tried running 2 days so far this week and had to cut it down to a walk, my leg muscles are not cooperating at all and scream in pain the entire time that I'm on the treadmill. Today, I don't have anything planned at all, maybe if it gets quiet for a little bit, I bust out some crunches, push ups, squats, and whatever else I can think of while no one's home. ;)
5th Gear
Bible study went good! Much better then yesterday. Powered through most of it before I even went to work. This lesson's really hard to digest and I'm thinking maybe God just wants me to be open minded, learn it and file the knowledge away for future use. I succeeded at obeying and dropped popping bubbles on fbook in order to pick up my bible and read what God wanted me to learn today. God is good! My prayer shawl from Mom wraps me in love and prayers first thing in the morning and helps motivate me to get the rest of my day rolling! Thanks Mom!
May all my readers and friends have a terrifically blessed day!