Tuesday, October 25, 2011

What's In A Name? pt 1

   Last week I was asked to head up the games at the birthday party of one of my daughter's friends. After searching the Internet for some time  I was not very satisfied with what I was finding...or more the lack thereof. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of games. But they were all geared towards 'princessy' vain little girls...the girls at this birthday party were far from that. They are all being taught to be mature,accomplished young ladies that will one day have a home of their own. I needed a game that would be both fun and stimulating as well as challenging and thought provoking. The more I prayed that God would give me wisdom and help me find the right games, He brought something to mind.
  A long time ago when my teenagers were little I made the rule that NO one is ever allowed to say they are 'bored'. I came up with a game of 'Guess What Animal I Am?' The person that is 'it' begins to describe an animal and the others try to be the first one to guess what it is. The Lord gave me the idea of using this as a basis but instead of animals, have the girls guess what woman of the Bible I was describing. Not only would this be fun but I could also teach a small lesson concerning each woman and how they changed their world.
  The first woman I chose was of course, Eve, the mother of all mankind! Since we had such a variety of young ladies at the party I used her for the youngest ones to guess. They really had a great time! The application of course was something that I could even take to heart!
  Eve, the crown of God's creation! She completed Man! That is what every woman is to her man...a completion! There is something very important that we need to know about ourselves as women though. In 1 Peter 3:7 God says 'Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them(women) according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.' In this day and time that we live in there is such a pull on girls from the time that they can start walking to be 'strong' and career oriented, being taught to not let man have dominance over them. Weaker in this sense does not mean not strong.
  Let's look at the difference between a  coffee mug and a china tea cup. They both have the same job to do and that is to hold a very hot liquid.   It is very obvious though that the mug can take more 'abuse' and pressure while the tea cup is dainty and fragile. It is the same with us women, whether we admit it or not! Oh, yes, we can be strong spiritually, mentally, emotionally and even sometimes physically but not in the same way a man can be. We can even be stronger than a man..even 'our' man, but not for very long. It is just not the way that God made us! I love the verse in Proverbs 31:17 speaking of the Virtuous Woman 'She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.' To gird means to put on. A man is strong all the time...we woman do not always need to be so but we must be willing, by God's grace and through His power, to be strong when the occasion calls for it.
  Being the 'delicate' vessel, Eve, was deceived in the Garden of Eden, not Adam. It is very easy for us woman to be deceived as well....after all, we all follow in our mother's footsteps! We must guard against this! As Christian women we must teach the younger generation to not listen to the lies of Satan through outlets such as Hollywood and music. God is not a cookie cutter god. Just look around us and see the variety and difference in us all! He did not make us to be fashion models and it is so sad to see that as a focus amongst women of all ages. We need to embrace the way that God has made us and learn to accept ourselves as His creation! Romans 9:20 says 'Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?' No, it is not easy, but by His grace we can  learn to accept ourselves as He has made us.
  We also need to learn why we were created. Satan has filled so many hearts with the lies of feminism. Why would any woman want to have or hold the same place as a man? Because she has been told a lie! We, women, are the crowning of God's creation! Why would we want to be like a man? Why would we want the same responsibilities? We hold power in our hands and we do not even realize it! Remember the sayings 'Behind every good man is a good woman' and 'The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world'? We need to get back to the basics! We can change this world!! Not by joining the realms of politics ourselves but by rearing our boys to!! We need to begin to teach our little girls how to love their husbands and support them, not to compete with them! And that starts in the home, with us!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Deer me!!!!

 My earliest memories of a deer, outside of Bambi, would be from my maternal grandfather, Hugh Fillingim.  My cousin and I were spending the day with him and we happened upon the poor beast hanging upside down in our grandfather's laundry room. Not the best way to introduce a little 5 year old city girl to rustic life.
  My next memory is when I was a bit older, maybe 7 or 8. I was spending some time during the summer with my aunt and uncle. My aunt had made us what I thought was turkey sausage from the local grocers. Boy, was it good!! After I had finished eating my lunch I was asked what I thought about it. You can only imagine my surprise when I found out that it was deer meat.
  Fast forward a few years to age 10. I am getting something out of the refrigerator and see this funny looking package. You guessed it, deer meat. I remember my dad cooking it and thinking it stinks...REAL bad. My mother said it was because it went bad (ya right!!)
 I was born and raised in the city. I was not familiar with ANY thing country. I vaguely remember my grandfather and my great grandmother gardening but it was not a way of our life.
  Somewhere along the way of getting to know my husband (while we were dating) he had mentioned hunting. But it never fazed me and I just listened never thinking that it might possibly be something that I would become more familiar with down the road.
  Fast forward again, and I am now 23. We have a 7 month old and I am expecting another baby. We now live in South Dakota. Good bye city, hello prairie. It is hunting season and my husband's cousins and some of his friends are going stir crazy over deer season. You would think they were taking steroids or something. My husband, who did hunt while a teenager, is caught up in the excitement.  I am about to get the experience of a life time! We wait the magic 3 days (which is a bunch of hooey if you ask me!) until it is time to butcher and I mean butcher the poor thing.
 We go to his cousin's house, who claims to be an expert at all things deer, and I am in for the shock of my life. His wife goes and gets a shower curtain, they move all the chairs away from the kitchen table and then in comes my husband and his cousin with not just a deer but one that has been skinned! I just about fell over! There is NO way I'm touching that thing!!! But touch I did! Thankfully my job was to rinse and package the meat. But I was taking too long for his cousin. He just didn't understand! There was a weird, slimy substance covering the meat and ALL of it was coming off before I packaged it. Well, that didn't last long because I was being too picky. How in the world can you be too picky over raw meat?!
  The only meat I ate from that deer were the 'steaks' and I fried mine to a crisp and drenched them in ketchup! After that experience I could always tell when one of our acquaintances had been cooking deer meat. It had a stench to it that is worse than fish!!!!
  My husband respected the fact that I did not care for deer meat and for that I am ever so grateful! Funny thing is our children absolutely love it! I always tried to hide my distaste for it because I did not want influence them concerning this. About 2 years before we left South Dakota another cousin of my husbands moved out there. Now he could cook, grill, BBQ, jerky, etc deer meat! It didn't smell or taste like what everyone elses smelled or tasted like. It wasn't too bad after all! The sad thing is my husband wasn't drawn in the 'lottery' (the way they choose who gets to hunt in SD) and I never was able to cook deer the way his cousin did.
 But don't fret, I don't loose any sleep over it. Being born in Texas, I grew up on steak. And that is what I prefer to eat, well, that and Mexican food, until the day I die!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Random Thoughts

 Last night my husband made a comment concerning a couple we know. He wondered how in the world did 'she' end up with 'him'?! I found his question a bit funny! Though I had thought the match unlikely I never questioned it...I just filled in my own conclusions by taking what I know of him and and what I know of her and realizing that they were not so unlikely of a match as what you might think.
  Have you ever noticed that there are more 'pretty' girls with not so handsome men? And that is it very rare that you find an ugly girl with a very handsome man. Ever wonder why? I think I might have an idea.
 This is what I told my husband concerning the afore mentioned couple. I bet he makes her laugh...she feels secure when she is with him...he 'gives' her worth and meaning....and even though she might not be as beautiful as Miss America, he makes her feel beautiful....from the inside out...which is a beauty that goes far deeper than physical beauty.
 Most good looking men want a woman that either compares with their looks or exceeds them. A woman on the other hand...well...that is a completely different story. Though looks are nice, we would rather be with someone that likes us for who we are, not what we look like. The man could be the ugliest man on earth, but if he makes you laugh, or values you, cherishes you, you can see past his looks...you can his his heart. And that's what really matters to a woman!
  For a woman, sometimes physical beauty can be a curse! A woman would much rather be loved for what is on the inside than for what is on the outside. We(women) are all to aware of the fact that with time the physical beauty will wither and fade, that it is the inner beauty of the woman that will last. It takes a real man to realize this as well!
  True beauty, whether you are a man or a woman, lies within. And if you are a Christian, Christ deepens that beauty with His strength and love and joy and grace.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Conflict of Interest

 Have you ever been torn betwixt two? Two decisions of upmost importance? As a mom that homeschools her children I have found myself in this place on more than one occassion. This time the ugly culprit was the chicken pox.
  My husband thinks of me as a 'go to' kind of girl. Give me something to do or that needs to be done and I have analyzed it, made a list, and have already employed several of our children to help accomplish the task. So as a homeschooling mother I look at our studies in this same way! Analyze what needs to be done for the day, make a list (even if it's a mental one) and then work away at it until it is finished. My problem with this is when our children are sick. It is so hard for me to just let them be, well, sick. It is not in my lesson plans, I have no place for it on my 'list' and it is just down right aggrivating (tongue in cheek!)
  Dealing with colds or the flu is one thing...the chicken pox...well, that has been a whole new ball game!! We had 3 sick children...that is half of my student body!!!! What to do?!?!? I struggled so hard with myself. I felt obligated to that part of me that is a die hard 'get it done' mentality and yet I felt guilty for 'gently' encouraging them to try do get at least some of their school work done.
  So one night, while laying in bed I was pouring my heart to my husband over feeling guilty because we were not getting the amount of school work accomplished that I thought we needed to. My husband, who is so very practical (my anchor) just looked at me and said 'You need to be their mom,not their school teacher.'
  Ah! How could I stray so far away from what I am? I am a mother to our children before I am a teacher in the academic sense. If they were enrolled in a traditional school they would not be doing school work. No, they would be cuddled on the couch and I would be watching over them and trying to make them as comfortable as possible. The teacher in me did not have time for sickness, but the mother in me would make sure they were well taken care of.
 Mothers. especially mothers that are stay at home moms/homeschooling moms, wear many, many, many different 'hats'. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that the most important  'hat' to wear, at all times, is that of mother!