He Stays The Same

Sometimes I have moments when I despise being an emotional creature. Emotions are crazy things. They can sneak up on you, grab you up, take you for a joyride (not sure where the joy is, though), and then drop you on your head....hence the headache.

A few days ago, I felt like I was going through an emotional roller coaster.

Oh yes, I'm happy. Sooooooo happy! *smile*

I'm just....so.....down!

I'm really, really not happy.
What a pretty day! *smile*
My day has been rotten.
No, nothing bad happened...
I'm fine, really.
Okay, I'm NOT fine.

No, I don't know why...

Sound familiar, girls?

My poor husband was at his wits end and, to be honest, I was too. Call it hormones. Call it being a first-time mommy. Call it being a wife. Call it what you will. I call it annoying and exasperating.

Oh yes, I'm human. I have plenty of days when I snap at my husband, when I am totally and completely selfish, when I actually want to be angry, and when I am not happy about anything. And then suddenly, it's like all is right in the world. Out of nowhere, I am happy to be alive, excited about my future, sweet as sugar to my husband, and giddy as a little girl!

Where did that come from?? I have no idea....  I can only say I'm a woman and I have a truck-load of emotions. And they change.... a lot.

All in all, I am thankful that God created me as an emotional creature. I want to feel things. However, I do not want my "feelings" to take over and have control. I want to bring my body - emotions included - into subjection (1 Corinthians 9:27). That isn't always easy though, is it?

Thinking back to the other day, I almost wish I could just stay happy all the time and never, ever change. My feelings are always shifting and it is a job to simply not get lost in my endless parade of emotions. However, this provides two good lessons.

Lesson #1 - Happiness is based on circumstances. Joy is based on contentment. Happiness is a feeling. Joy is a state of being. Happiness is momentary. Joy is eternal. And joy - true joy - comes from Christ.

Lesson #2 - If I were unchangeable, I would never stand in awe of my unchangeable God.

I am still a work-in-progress. I will still struggle to keep my emotions in check. I will continue to forever be striving, with God's help, to act in accordance with the Word of God. But how encouraging it is to KNOW that right by my side is a Helper, Companion, Friend, Leader, Provider, and Savior who is never confusing or swayed at any time by any thing. How comforting it is to know that, although my feelings may change every day, I serve and follow a God who stays the same.

Malachi 3:6a
"For I am the LORD, I change not...."

Hebrews 13:8
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

Day 29 - 60 Day Photo Challenge

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.

Ellie. Our "baby dog" that, sadly, died last year. We didn't have her long but she was my favorite pet we have ever had....which is saying a lot.

The Cost of a Child

A few years ago, the government calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 years of age, and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

- $8,896.66 a year,

- $741.3 month
-  $171.08 a week.

- That's a mere $24.24 a day!

- Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140?

• Naming rights. First, middle, and last!


• Glimpses of God every day.


• Giggles under the covers every night.


• More love than your heart can hold.


• Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.


• Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.


• A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.


• A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites


• Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what happens that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
finger-paint
play hide-and-seek
catch lightning bugs
play in the yard with the dogs...

You have an excuse to:
keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh
keep watching cartoons
go to animated movies....

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
     
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for:
retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof
taking the training wheels off a bike
removing a splinter
filling a wading pool
coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs

You get a front row seat to witness the:
- the first smile
- the first step
- the first word
- the first birthday
- the first time behind the wheel...

You get another branch added to your family tree. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, and communications that no college can match.

You are given the honor of teaching them the Bible and the ways of the Lord.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits.

So.....one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!

Day 28 - 60 Day Photo Challenge

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.

Spiders. Any kind. Any size.

Day 27 - 60 Day Photo Challenge

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.

My aunt, Lauri. :) She is one of the funnest, sweetest, most beautiful and precious people in my life.

I Pray You Won't Find Me Sleeping

Matthew 26:36-45a
"Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now...."

When you bid me to pray and to watch for a snare
When loved ones and friends are burdened down with dispair
When a call is made to spend an hour in prayer
Oh, I pray You won't find me sleeping!

If in the long journey, I wearily retreat
Oh, let me not sink into the mire of defeat!
Oh to pray and to toil 'til the work is complete!
I pray, God, You won't find me sleeping.

Lord, my flesh is weak but my spirit, renewed
I commit to watch now and pray with You.
And when my eyes grow heavy as they often do,
Lord, wake me, I don't want to be sleeping.

Day 26 - 60 Day Photo Challenge

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.

My home.