How's Your Faith?

Matthew 17: 20 "You didn't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."

You know sometimes we just need to take a moment, and look out the window, to see God's wonderful and awesome creation, and realize the power He has and has made available to us. This was a view the Lord blessed my eyes with one day in the not to distant past.  About two weeks ago. That cloud was getting the sun on it from the west as it was going down.  Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!  All the time our God is so great, we just need to stop for a moment and realize this! 

I have two daughters and four sons.  Plus I have my four daughters-by-covenant.  And I am sure that my son's wives toot their natural mother’s horn as do my natural daughters toot my horn.  Since I have started writing this blog my oldest daughter, reads it everyday and she has gotten a couple of her friends to read it as well, which pleases me immensely!  And Jonquil sometimes has something to say about the blog.  And this pleases me also, even if it's critical, I can take it.  The first thing anybody ever said about me was, “Wow, look at the shoulders on this little bugger!"  That was when I was born 57 years ago!  And yesterday I told my youngest daughter Ruth, who doesn't read the blog everyday, "Don’t read it today!"  She said, “What is that Mom, some kind of reverse psychology,” well maybe!  But Ruth told me yesterday that she is very proud that her mother is a blogger! 

I started doing this just to relate some little stories and thoughts, and I have found I really enjoy writing.  So I continue.  And, more importantly, it is a way to share my faith, in an everyday sort of way.  Our faith needs to be in everything, that we do, and if it's not, then maybe we are doing some things we shouldn't be doing.

Why do we want our children to be happy about what we are doing?  For me it's the way that God made me, and sometimes it has gotten me into trouble.  Parents hear me...it is one thing to make your children proud and happy about you when they are adults and pretty much on their own, but don't you do it when they are still living under your roof and still in your care.  It is our job as parents to help our children to grow into respectful and loving adults.  We aren't supposed to be their friends when they are children, we are supposed to be their parents, and parents and friends are way different!  Believe me I have struggled with this one.  And if I can help any parent out there realize this and save them the heartache of making a mistake or two that I have made, then I have done a good thing!


My oldest daughter sometimes speaks of being over-extended.  Well there is an easy fix for this, just say no, and when you say no, you need not extend any explanation.  Just say no.  Not that you want to play head games, but just watch what happens the first time that you try this and DON'T offer any explanation, it's really rather humorous, but don't laugh out loud, people, our children, whoever, will think that you are laughing at them, which you are not, you will probably be chuckling because you will be thinking, hey, she's right.  People seem to be trained, and trained by us, to wait for the explanation and when one isn't offered; they are left standing their just waiting and wondering "a why?" You have to retrain people and you may actually find them being a little rude towards you until they realize that "Why" is none of their business.

I am just re-reading this and I have no idea how I got from the above to the below…
Oh yeah!  Now I remember, our children just like our friends and associates don’t like to be told NO!  But as parents this is a word we need to use…not always, but often enough.  And if our children can get us into a conversation about why we are saying no, then they have a foot in the door, so to speak!  But if you say a silent little prayer to God to help you keep your mouth shut, and to not let ANY words escape from your mouth, He will help you!  Hey if God can help you move a mountain, I am sure He can help us to keep our mouths shut, when we really need to.  Just try to say NO today and don’t offer a reason.  See what happens!

Now, you know what I have to say, go and be a blessing,  our God is so good to us, and He wants us to share this goodness, who knows, perhaps when you are a blessing to someone, that someone will be a blessing to someone and so on and so on and so on…

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