Put On Christ

Romans 13:14 -  ^"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."

A couple of months ago, Preacher Man had been discussing his upcoming sermons with me and I knew that since warm weather was coming, he had a sermon on modesty in the works.   On Sunday, the song leader led us in singing, "O To Be Like Thee" and my mind seized line after line thinking, "THIS IS IT!"** 

Just like the words we speak and the reactions we have, the clothing and adornment we chose for our bodies is an outpouring of what is in our heart. 

Surely you have heard this verse so many times your eyes glaze over when you read it again, but try to let the words sink in:

1 Timothy 2:9-10 - "in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works."

Whether you realize it or not, whether you like it or not, your choice of clothing speaks volumes.  But what are your clothes saying?  Are they saying, "I want to attract you to Christ" or "I want to attract you to ME"?  

Lest you think I'm being self-righteous here, let me assure you that these thoughts step on my toes too.  


In light of the song...

O to be like Thee! blessed Redeemer;
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear. 

When you sing these words, do you really mean them?  Will you REALLY forfeit all of your treasures?  What about your cute wardrobe?  Do you wear Jesus' perfect likeness? 

O to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand'ring sinners to find.

What about your brothers in Christ that are struggling in their battle against lust?   Will you have compassion on them?  Will you be loving, forgiving, tender, and kind to them?  Is your clothing compassionate and kind for them?  Are you showing them brotherly love by giving them preference? 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.

Have I put down my selfishness and pride, enduring the reproach of looking different than the rest of the world?  Am I meek and harmless in my dress?  Am I willing to suffer by limiting my choice of clothing in order to save another?  (Thinking in those terms makes my clothing preferences seem very petty indeed!)

O to be like Thee! Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th'anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing;
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.

"Lord, clothe me as You see fit.  My body is a gift from You, made in Your image and it belongs to You.  Anoint me in your divine power and love.  My heart, my body, and my clothing are all Thine.  Teach me to adorn myself in a way that reflects You.  Jesus, clothe me with Your perfect likeness."

O to be like Thee! While I am pleading
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love.
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit for a life which Thou wouldst approve.

O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee!
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image, deep on my heart.

 **I fully recognize the value of this song taken as is, and without this focus on modesty.  It seems that the closer I get to becoming like Christ, the more cognizant I become of how very far I have to go.  And so, "this is my constant longing and prayer" and I have faith that as I work to be more like Him, His Spirit will work more and more on me.

Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Linking up today with The Modest Mom.

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Oh To Be Like Thee

1. O to be like Thee! blessed Redeemer;
   This is my constant longing and prayer;
   Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's treasures,
   Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
• O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee!
• Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
• Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
• Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
2. O to be like Thee! full of compassion,
   Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
   Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
   Seeking the wand'ring sinners to find.
3. O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
   Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
   Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
   Willing to suffer, others to save.
4. O to be like Thee! Lord, I am coming,
   Now to receive th'anointing divine;
   All that I am and have I am bringing;
   Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.
5. O to be like Thee! While I am pleading
   Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love.
   Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
   Fit for a life which Thou wouldst approve.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/398#ixzz1u7imeWwG

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Dandelion Pre-School

Yesterday, I followed a Facebook link put up by a friend to a post describing The Wonderment Curriculum by Raising Arrows.  I clicked on the link out of curiosity, but was highly skeptical that I would find much merit in a pre-school curriculum.  Her post moved me to tears.  Joyful tears. 

This is it!  This is what we do!  And she described it so well.

To illustrate how this plays out in real life, I'll show you what a part of our day last week looked like.

It was sunny and mild, and we try to spend the better part of every such day outdoors.  I hung up the laundry while the Littles became fascinated by the dandelions growing in the yard and kept bringing "flowers for mama".  Who can resist flowers so sweetly given?  I set my gifts in a tray used to sprout seeds so they wouldn't blow away.

And then came the idea... why not fill each section of the tray?  (I realized the added benefit that picking the dandelions before they went to seed would mean less to spread through the yard, so I encouraged as much dandelion picking as they were interested in doing.)  So Big Littles went about filling the tray with Little Littles adding to it occasionally.  Big Littles and I did some comparing/contrasting of the sizes of the blooms, counted them, noted patterns in the tray, later we talked about why they wilt after they are picked... who knew there was so much learning that could happen by casually picking dandelions?  Big Littles became so engrossed that he filled a second tray!

 Meanwhile, on his own, Little Littles got out his wheelbarrow and got to work.  He trotted around the yard and picked at least a HUNDRED dandelions!  He was such a focused little worker and he was so proud of his accomplishment! 

These are precious moments of wonder, and this is the way we do pre-school.

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House Tour Part 2

We've been in our new home for about a month and while we still have unpacked boxes, more and more I am getting the feeling that this is home and that everything has a place.

The first Sunday morning we were all here was utter insanity.  The house ended up needing WAY more cleaning than we anticipated, so we were further behind than I expected to be after being in the house for a week.  We had been living out of suitcases for two weeks and I had worn the same dress to church for the 3 previous weeks.  I was ready to wear a different dress.  The only problem was that it was unexpectedly cold and my clothes were in three different boxes in three different rooms in the house.  Pulling together an outfit almost made me lose my mind.  And then my hose had a run in the toe, so I had to dig out another pair.  And I had to wear hose because my legs looked like Sherwood forest.  (nudging my old room mate - remember that one M?)  Yes, personal grooming had not been very high on the priority list.  And then I had to find matching shoes.  And the correct slip was nowhere to be found.  And then I had a raging static problem and my hair just was NOT cooperating.  Every time I tried to find something, I had to look in four places before I found it.  Some people live like this all the time.  I cannot do it.  So it was imperative for me to get some order because my mental stability was pretty weak for a while there.  :)  So here are some more pictures...

Our two biggest jobs - floor cleaning and wall washing... still not done with the walls.

The carpets did, in fact, change color after being cleaned!

The Littles helped out too.

Full view of the kitchen

The dining area, aka - 70's room

 

The very PINK bathroom... funny in a house full of boys!

                                The pink is actually kind of growing on me... and I LOVE the tile on the floor!

Going up the stairs... the W.C.

It's impossible to get good lighting for a photo here, but even in real life, it's just a little... odd.  BUT, I'm loving having the second toilet between the bedrooms.  It will be especially nice when we have company.  And when I'm pregnant.  Oh, so very nice.  (I'm not, by the way.)

 

The Littles' Bedroom

The other side... see those walls?  That is AFTER two cleanings.

No pictures of our bedroom yet... it's getting pulled together, but it is pretty low priority.  There are also two empty bedrooms downstairs that will eventually be a guest room/play room/homeschool/storage room/sewing room... yeah, all of that.  We've also got a massive basement and the Littles love to play down there.  It's nothing picture-worthy though.

Oh and wait until I show you Preacher Man's Office!!!!  It is REALLY something! 

In case you missed it, here is the House Tour Part 1

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Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to

You can never have too many mashed potatoes, so I say.

Or baked or roasted ones because they make some delicious leftovers!

I usually make mashed and baked potatoes in large batches - about a 5 lb. bag at a time.

 
For Mashed Potatoes:
My recipe is very inexact, but I can tell you that I boil the diced potatoes, sometimes with skins, sometimes not.  When they are soft, I strain out the water and mash them by hand with a stick of butter (per 5 lbs. of potatoes), a splash of milk (or rice milk), a palm full of salt and a good grinding of pepper.  Taste for seasoning and enjoy!

For Baked Potatoes:
I fill a 13x9 pan with potatoes scrubbed clean with holes poked in them all over. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with some salt, and bake at about 300* until they are done.  It takes about an hour and a half.

Here's what I do with the leftovers:
For mashed potatoes:
Salmon Patties 
Shepherd's Pie - a friend made this recipe for us and it was deeeee-licious!  It froze beautifully too.

For baked potatoes:
Scalloped Potatoes
Twice-baked potatoes are so yummy too.  I don't have a recipe to share, but I'm sure you could find one online.
You can also cut them up and fry them for breakfast as hash browns/home fries.  No specific recipe on this one either, but I have found that if you use plenty of butter, moderately high heat, and don't stir them around much at all, they'll cook up nicely. 

This past week, I also found that using leftover roasted potatoes made for even easier hash browns!  I just warmed them up on one side of the cast iron skillet while I fried some eggs.  They were delicious that way.

How do you like to use leftover potatoes?

Related Posts:
Using It Up
The Precious Possession of Diligence

And be sure to visit The Four Moms today - they are having a link-up on leftovers.  I've already gotten a few great ideas.

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House Tour

Big changes have been happening in our lives!  I'm excited to show you around our new home!

Let's start with where I am now.  Here's my desk:

It's in the kitchen, and I'm loving it!
(Please ignore the mess in the background.  I just went grocery shopping and haven't put everything away yet.  And yes, that is CARPET in our kitchen.  I'm not really loving that, but we are living with it.)
It's in a nice sunny spot and having it next to the radiator keeps me nice and toasty while I sip my cuppa tea during afternoon quiet time.

Here's a closeup:

I've got my Mac-top, my coffee cup, my homekeeping notebook, my study Bible, my emergency scrunchie, and my chocolate stash.  Who could ask for anything more?

Here's a tour of the living room panning to the right:

Yes, we covered the fireplace with the couch.  Because we are renting, we are not allowed to use it, and this keeps the draft down.

If you saw our old house, you may be surprised to see that the living room paint color is almost identical to what we had in our old place!  Convenient, huh?  And the picture/clock arrangement is not ideal to my eye and is messing with my sense of feng shui.  Long story short, the landlord doesn't want us adding any new nails to the walls, so we have to use the existing ones, which aren't always ideally situated for us.  But that's ok.  We can live with funky feng shui.  Especially when this is more what the living room usually looks like:

With lots of toys, cheerios, and children strewn about. 

Here's our little "Library":

It is supposed to be the "formal dining room", but using it as a library and comfortable place to play and do school works so naturally for us.  And we ended up doing this because our very large table that seats 10-12 wouldn't fit in this room, so our dining table is in a sort of addition off of the kitchen... a room straight out of the 70's with looooooooooong shag carpet.  *sigh*  Yeah, I'll have to show you that one later. 

We were able to rent this home after many, many weeks of prayer, and I know that some of you joined us in those prayers and we are just so grateful.  In so many ways, this is a wonderful place for us to be and it is working so well for our family.  I'll try to share some more pictures another day.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

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Hey! I'm back!

After two months away, I'm finally back!  I'm really excited to get into blogging again because I'm just bursting with so many things to share.  :)

While I was gone, both Blogger and PhotoBucket made major changes, so I feel like I'm stumbling through trying to re-learn everything.

I have also decided to reveal just a little bit more about myself on my About Me page.  My real name is Heather and this is what I look like:

See?  I'm a relatively normal looking person...

Now when you get to know me...  HA!

Preacher Man just took on a new work, preaching for a small and relatively new group of Christians meeting in a city in New York State.  He is excited about the work and the potential for evangelism.  We are adjusting to depending upon outside support in a tenuous economy.  We no longer live in a parsonage, but are renting a cute little house in the city with just enough land to plant a garden and let the Littles play outside.  We really do love this house and I hope to post some pictures soon.  I'm getting used to having way too many options for shopping and having to actually DRIVE to Bible study among other things.  :)

A huge recent accomplishment for our family is that we are now 100% DEBT FREE!!!  We've had so many ups and downs to get to this point... EXPENSIVE birth(s), career changes, car issues... so many, many hurdles to overcome, but we finally wrote the check to pay off the last of our student loans. I would have to really dig for the paperwork to find out how much we paid off altogether. It was a lot, though, and it was all student loans and medical bills. We've still had so much up in the air financially that it has been hard to really *enjoy* this financial freedom, but I think I'm starting to come around. This is a REALLY good thing.

So I'm very happy to be back, blogging from a new locale, refreshed and bursting with ideas.  I hope to share some pictures of our new home soon. 

Blessings to you, my friends!


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