Why I am FURIOUS with Wal-Mart

I am not an angry person by nature, but last night infuriated me. The family and I went to Wal-Mart to get a trash can, simple stuff. We couldn't find the price so we had to look for one of those price checkers. The first one we found happened to be in the beverage aisle. Hubby had the little two in the shopping cart, scanned the can and continued walking. L and I were a few steps behind him.

All the sudden we hear bottles clinking and pause (just L and I) for a second. Within a split second L is pummeled by 5 bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade that had fallen off of the very top shelf. Two six packs had fallen over and off of the shelf. He was hit in the back of the neck and on the shoulders. The bottles breaking on him, bursting off of the floor and making a huge mess. L had an instant bruise and welt on his shoulder and was all red. He said it didn't hurt unless he moved or touched it.

Accidents happen right? The people who worked at Wal-Mart were polite and compassionate to L and us. We filled out an accident report. What makes me so angry is that these bottles were in their six packs on the top shelf, stacked on top of each other two and three cases high, unsecured. What if those bottles had fallen a different way or we had been standing a 1/2 inch to the side? He could have been seriously hurt, possibly killed. I know that sounds dramatic, but I am being practical - it could have been much more serious. Thankfully by the grace of God he is fine.

I called a lawyer this morning - I told him, I don't want money I just want the policy for securing their merchandise changed. No such luck if there is no serious injury, but I was encouraged to write a strongly worded letter to the Manager and the Corporate Office. I will be doing that - however having worked at Wal-Mart for four years as a teenager I know how dismissive they are of customer complaints and concerns.

Lesson: Keep an eye out for falling objects?

TRUE BEAUTY: Part One

Hello Ladies,

I am going to break chapter two of our book study into 2 weeks, because – well it is something all women need to take time and sort through in my opinion. I know I could spend an extra week refocusing the way I have viewed beauty.

The first thing that came to mind as I began reading chapter 2 was Dove's campaign for true beauty commercials. For centuries and throughout every culture women have caved to the accepted standard of beauty. Whether it was tiny feet, long necks, rounded foreheads, nose jobs or boob jobs (as pointed out by Carolyn in this chapter) we have succumb to the temptation to be perfect. Even in today's culture we can see through the willingness of Dove to shed light on this hysteria that no woman is perfect! Have you seen Dove's commercial where the beautiful woman sits in the chair, has her makeup and hair professionally done, lighting arranged and photos taken – only to have those photos digitally altered in post processing? What kind of hope does it give us as women to know that we can NEVER ATTAIN the standards set forth by society?

What should truly concern us more than living up to the unattainable is why do we feel the need to strive for this? Carolyn Mahaney asks "Why aren't we pleased with 'normal'?" Good question. The answer is something I can personally attest to and I'm sure you can too – to some degree. We have bought into the lie: "If you're beautiful, you will be happy and successful. You will be popular among the women, and you will be desirable to men. You will know lasting intimacy and true love. You will be confident and secure. You will be important and significant." (p.36)

Look at celebrities. Gorgeous women and men unfulfilled by their beauty. Beautiful women that we often compare ourselves to have their marriages and relationships fall victim to infidelities. They are not able to attain happiness, lasting intimacy or true love by being beautiful.

I found it interesting and did not know that :

"Nowhere in the Bible are women instructed to wish for, ask for, or strive for physical beauty. Instead, God's Word warns us of the futility and deceitfulness of such a pursuit. Neither does the Bible portray physical beauty as a blessing for those who have it. Instead, it can actually create greater potential for being snared by sin (Prov. 6:23-26).

However, there is a kind of beauty that we are to pursue. First Peter 3:4-5 tells us that our beauty 'should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.'" (p.37)

It is the propaganda of our culture that what matters most is being beautiful, I'm sure it has been the same for many cultures throughout history. The truth is that this physical beauty is not comparable to the calling for inner beauty that God desires of us. If we work to cultivate a quiet spirit and a right heart we are going to be able to impact lives for the glory of God.

I am going to end the first part of chapter with the "Heart Check" checklist of priorities.

1. Do I spend more time daily caring for my personal appearance than I do in Bible study, prayer, and worship?

2. Do I spend excessive money on clothes, hair, and makeup, or is it an amount that is God-honoring?

3. So I want to lose weight to "fell better about myself," or do I desire to be self-disciplined for the glory of God?

4. Am I on a quest for thinness to impress others, or do I seek to cultivate eating habits that honor God?

5. Do I exercise to try to create or maintain a "good figure," or do I exercise to strengthen my body for God's service?

6. Is there anything about my appearance that I wish I could change, or am I fully grateful to God for the way he created me?

7. Am I jealous of the appearance of others, or am I truly glad when I observe other women who are more physically attractive than I?

8. Do I covet the wardrobe of others, or do I genuinely rejoice when other women are able to afford and purchase new clothing?

9. When I attend an event or activity, do I sinfully compare myself with others, or do I go asking god to show me whom to love and how to do it?

10. Do I ever dress immodestly or with the intent of drawing attention to myself, or do I always dress in a manner that pleases God?

Asking these questions on a consistent basis can help us weed out worldly values and cultivate a heart for God's priorities. (p. 39)

What did you think? Was there anything that particularly spoke to your heart? Please feel free to share your thoughts and commentaries below and engage in discussion.

Who am I to Judge?

I am ashamed to share, but because God is so great and this moment for me was so awesome I will lay down my pride and be honest. A few years ago a lot of ugliness happened in the lives of some of my friends, there was adultery and the dissolution of marriages and it all took place at the time I was moving away. So, while life has moved on for those involved, I am still stuck in the past.

I have a very hard time with harboring resentment towards the individuals who caused all of this and still find myself lying in bed at night angry that it happened. Silly I know - it is just my flesh. I think maybe the reason that it is so hard for me is because it is my biggest fear? One night last week I was lying in bed thinking a mess of mean spirited thoughts and was unable to sleep. I felt the Lord tell me to go read my bible. I argued with him, it was 1 in the morning, I was sure that it wasn't God, it was me just being restless. Half an hour later, still wide awake I prayed, "Alright Lord, if you are going to make me get up, you need to tell me what to read."

John 8:6 rushed my mind before I finished my prayer. Still not convinced it was God (because I am a doubter) I reluctantly picked up my Bible and sat out on the sofa. Flipped to John 8:6 and read:

"They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger."



If you know your Bible you know where this is going. I'll back up a bit:

"But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

WOW! The Lord humbled my heart. Who am I to sit in judgement of another? I too have sinned and to God it is no different than the sin of adultery. Some Pastor's take on this passage is that Jesus bent down and starting writing the names of the woman's accusers in the sand and their sins. What would the Lord have written about me?

Thank you Lord for reminding me that you are God and I am not. Forgive me prideful heart. In Jesus name, Amen

Nothing Short of A Miracle

The Lord is at work in my life in the small things and I am so grateful for those moments when he clearly lets me know it.

I will start with the more recent (and most miraculous - in my opinion). As part of hubby's preparation for Officer school he had to have a very extensive physical today. The only thing that we have been worried about seriously praying over was his vision. During his entrance physical, 6 plus years ago, he failed his depth perception test - and generally that type of thing doesn't improve over time.

Jeff is an over-preparer (is that a word?) so we have spent the last few months fretting about what could happen if he didn't pass, knowing it would result in him getting assigned a different position. We devoted a lot of time to the Internet looking up ways to improve depth perception and found the most common way was to use the Magic Eye illustrations (you know you remember those they were so much fun as kids). Jeff couldn't make out a single picture in 2 books and needless to say he was frustrated and we were a little concerned.

Truly aware that no matter how much he worked on his ol' eyeballs we weren't going to be able to MAKE them pass the test, he accepted that fact that God is in control. This afternoon as he took his depth perception test he said he was astonished at how easily the correct answers jumped out at him. He had to slow himself down in fear that he was guessing wrong, because it seemed to easy. In the end he didn't miss a single one! To me that is a miracle.

FEMININITY: Developing a Biblical perspective

Welcome as we dive into Biblical Womanhood in the Home. I would like to open with John Greenleaf Whittier's prayer that Nancy included at the end of the introduction:

"Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow Thee.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness
Till all our strivings cease.
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace."

The first section of this book introduces us to God's design for women and begins in Chapter 1 with Femininity. We were designed to be feminine by no accident. God had a beautiful purpose and design for us. Carolyn Mahaney (the author of ch.1 ) says, "The important point here [referring to Genesis 1:27, 2:21-22] is that God created us, and being the creation of God determines everything for us as women. We don't look to our culture to find our feminine identity; we don't consult our feelings to discover our purpose. Everything that we are and everything that we do must be rooted in God." (p.23) This is an important revelation in understanding God's design for women. Many things in this book are EXTREMELY counter-cultural, and even so within the church at times. I have learned that where I initially feel opposition to what I am learning about biblical womanhood, more often than not I am walking in disobedience in that area.

Part of our feminine design is to be a helper to our husbands, and if single then in other relationships in our lives. We are to come along side of our husbands in order to help them live out their God given calling. I thought that the passage by Author Douglas Wilson gave wonderful insight into this:

"The man needs the help; the woman needs to help. Marriage was created by God to provide a companionship in the labor of dominion. The cultural mandate, the requirement to fill and subdue the earth, is still in force, and a husband cannot fulfill this portion of the task in isolation. He needs a companion suitable for him in the work to which God has called him. He is called to the work and must receive help from her. She is called to the work through ministering to him. He is oriented to the task, and she is oriented to him." (p.25)

We are also designed for motherhood. I LOVED this passage:

"As women, we are created to be life-bearers. Our bodies have been designed with the ability to mother—to receive, carry, and bear young. In fact, our bodies prepare themselves repeatedly to conceive and bear young. We express our femininity by gratefully embracing every stage of child-bearing, receiving and nurturing each child as a gracious gift from God."

Sometimes mothering becomes a burden instead of a joy, which Carolyn addressed in the text, and it is true for all of us at times I am sure.

The final part of our femininity addressed in this chapter is cultivating a love for our home. "Domesticity –devotion to the quality of home life—is an essential facet of femininity." Being good and skilled keepers of our home is in fact just another way of loving our husbands and nurturing our children. It is our job to feed, clothe and care for them in an environment that allows them to feel safe and loved. Home should be their safe haven from the chaotic world.

Loving service to our husbands and children is the perfect way to emulate Christ and live out God's plan for our lives. So often as women we get carried away with ministry, friendships, and other things that call us away from our home. Our home is where we are most vital and where we are called to be. We tend to be kinder and more patient with friends and strangers than we are with the people who we share our lives with. Are we truthfully and wholeheartedly following God's commands if aren't purposefully living out our design with those closest to us? Through our servant's heart and peaceful spirit, our husbands and children should be able to see a brilliant reflection of Christ in us.

Does God command us to abandon passions for other Godly pursuits, no! - but we are wisely cautioned against allowing these things to interfere with what matters most. Our femininity is found in our God given purpose to encourage, care for, and support our husbands, to love and nurture our children, and to keep our homes (Proverbs 31, Titus 2:3-5).

What did you think? Was there anything that particularly spoke to your heart? Please feel free to share your thoughts and commentaries below and engage in discussion.