Musing the Muddles

[sunlight]

:grin:

* sunlight hugs Urby

[titushome]

"Dea.d" and "dea.th"?  I don't get it.  What's with the periods?

Oh, and good post too. 

[MelodyB]

Her filter would have bleeped those words had she not placed the periods there.

[SippinTea]

Prezactly. *sigh* I declare, that thing is so annoying... the minute I move out of this household, I'm taking it off.
Okay, well, maybe not, but it's really annoying.

[The Purple Fuzzy]

So, you didn't put the filter on yourself?  Did your parents?

[SippinTea]

As long as I'm living in their house it has to stay on.

All I know is, it's not particularly effective - as in, bad stuff still comes up sometimes - and it's selective about when it will and won't delete words in something I'm writing. Sometimes a particular word is okay, and sometimes it's not.

[Babs]

As long as I'm living in their house it has to stay on.

All I know is, it's not particularly effective - as in, bad stuff still comes up sometimes - and it's selective about when it will and won't delete words in something I'm writing. Sometimes a particular word is okay, and sometimes it's not.

lol thats about how i feel here with the filter here, it bleeps the dumbest words at times lol

[titushome]

Why does your filter dislike those particular words?  Is your filter afraid to die?  Does it not like to think that someday its life will come to an end?

[SippinTea]

Very good questions... for which I have no answer. I think perhaps it's to keep me from going emo or goth or something. *lol*

[iridiscente]

I know you so little.

[SippinTea]

Perhaps.

But then, sometimes it seems very few people know the real me.

I'll confess I'm curious what prompted you to post that comment though.

[iridiscente]

If I had to make a list of things I know about you, there are few facts I could place with surety. However, if given situations, I could probably choose which decision you'd make with 60% accuracy on details.

We should visit more!

p.s. (Post-marriage will this turn into the "Choosing the Cuddles" thread?)

[SippinTea]

  After I'm married, I'm definitely choosing the cuddles!

[sunlight]

I bet!
and the hot chocolate... :halo:

[SippinTea]

*cough*

[SippinTea]

GROW

Resolutions never seem to work with my perfectionistic and idealistic personality 'cause I always bite off more than I can chew and then get overwhelmed and feel like a failure when I can't keep them. So I've come up with an alternative plan. I've decided to GROW towards my bigger goals, and take things in bite-sized pieces.

GROW = Get Real On Wednesday... meaning Wednesday is the day I'll use to check up on myself and take inventory of how I'm doing in growing in various areas of my life.

The way it works is, I'm making lists of activities and/or small goals that will help me grow in each of the categories I want to work on, and then I'll pick at least one small thing from the list to do. That way I'm actively and purposefully working my ultimate goals (I.E. growing into a more godly woman, or growing in my relationships with friends) but I'm not trying to accomplish the whole goal in one week. :-)

The general categories are:
GROW in my spiritual life
GROW in my relationships with my family
GROW in my relationships with my friends
GROW in homemaking skills
GROW in physical well-being
GROW in being a godly woman/wife
GROW in personal development

Broken down to bite-sized pieces it looks like this:

GROW in my spiritual life
~Continue reading through the Bible
~Pray for specific needs in my own life or the lives of my friends/family
~Do an in-depth study of a specific passage/chapter/book
~Fast - whether food, media, or something else
~Read a chapter in a Christian classic

GROW in my relationships with my family
~Write a note
~Make a phone call
~Invite someone over for tea/coffee/lunch
~Go on an outing
~Give a gift (time, energy, etc - it doesn't have to cost money)

GROW in my relationships with my friends
~Write a note
~Make a phone call
~Invite someone over for tea/coffee/lunch
~Go on an outing
~Give a gift (time, energy, babysitting, etc - it doesn't have to cost money)

GROW in homemaking skills
~Try a new recipe
~Learn to knit
~Make something useful and/or beautiful for home (crochet, sew, paint, etc)
~Clean out and organize a shelf/cupboard/closet that is usually neglected
~Read a chapter in a book about natural cleaning agents or health remedies
~Grow an herb or two
~Research local and organic options for food

GROW in physical well-being
~Read a chapter about nutrition, or eating healthy
~Do stretching exercises
~Walk a mile or two
~Research a natural/healthy remedy for a health issue

GROW in being a godly woman/wife
~Read a chapter in a Christian woman growing book
~Study the life of a woman in the Bible
~Talk to someone I admire/respect about living life as a Christian woman/wife
~Close my mouth when I want to say something sarcastic
~Say something kind and/or encouraging
~Memorize a verse or passage of Scripture

GROW in personal development
~Read a chapter in a book about a topic or person I don't know much about
~Watch a travel video
~Practice the piano
~Play a song by ear
~Organize my purse
~Make a list or chart that will help me focus on my tasks or goals

C'mon 2010! I'm ready to tackle you - with God's strength!

[iridiscente]

You go, girl!

[RainbowJingles]

Oh.
My.
Word.

Okay...  I can't even begin to explain how that post totally hit me between the eyes and nailed what I needed to hear.  Being overwhelmed can be disastrous, making you feel like you're taking in so much water that there's no need (or use) to bail, because then how will you paddle?  And if you paddle, you're moving forward only to sink in a different place...

My pastor has declared this year a year of growth for our church, and what you had to say just seems to fit in with where God is taking me/us.  I just needed to see what you wrote for a LOT of reasons.

**HUGS** Ruby

[iridiscente]

:hugs: 'lona

[RainbowJingles]

**HUGS** Dina

[SippinTea]

Matthew 6:34-7:27 (The Message)

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

"Don't be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don't reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you're only being cute and inviting sacrilege.

"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn't a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing. You're at least decent to your own children. So don't you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?

"Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God's Law and Prophets and this is what you get.

"Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.

"Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.

"Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' for instance— isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'

"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

"But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."




This is a passage I've been smacked between the eyes by recently. Especially the phrases I've put in bold type. I might be back later to add some comments, but for now I'm just posting the passage itself.

[iridiscente]

Smacked me between the eyes too, thanks for sharing.

[The Purple Fuzzy]

Wow.  I may need to get that version for comparison.

[iridiscente]

My thoughts exactly!

[SippinTea]

Are you broken? It's okay. Really. It's more than okay. Because when you give all those broken pieces to God, He creates a beautiful stained glass picture from all those broken pieces. And stained glass pictures allow Him to shine through them in the most beautiful ways. Question: Are you allowing Him to shine through you today? Or are you trying to cover up your brokenness? I want Him to shine through me...