Monday
My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them, for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace. They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble. You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.
Proverbs 3: 12-24
I watched from a distance as he took her to the pond and picked up some rocks along the way. She giggled with delight as he threw a rock into the pond and encouraged her to do so. We were baby-sitting a friend’s daughter, not having any children of our own. I saw how easily children are entertained when they have your un-divided attention. Four years later, we had our first child and I learned this lesson over and over, usually with dirt, rocks and water.
Children and adults as well, generally just want time with loved ones, this is common sense, but so easily forgotten. Big expensive vacations and big expensive toys are not necessary to attain this goal. What people of all ages are looking for, out of life, is to be happy and content. Mistakenly, many times we wrongly believe a new toy, or a new place will bring about contentment. The goal of the new “thing” or place is to bring people together to bond. The reality is that people just need time together, looking into each other’s eyes when talking, not doing 3 things at once (ie: TV, texting and talking).
The example above is great for children, but for adults, a game of scrabble, a puzzle or a card game are all things that help people to bond. In this highly electronic world, it’s ok to do something old-fashion-ly fabulous. Do you need to plan to do things just a little differently? Do you need to un-plug? Should you plan some outside time or at least play more often? Is “Dancing with the Stars” more important than a family member or God?
Lord, help me to reserve time solely for spending time with loved ones and You, without doing anything else at that time.
The Cycles
Tuesday
I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’
Hosea 10:12
We all know that living life on a farm means we see the cycle of life in a much more casual tone than ya’ll city folk see it. Cycles are seen everywhere we look. It is very refreshing to see each new season slowly unfold; it changes your attitude and gives you something to look forward to. We watch the grass grow into hay, the hay get cut, raked and made into hay bales, and ultimately, fed to the cows. The cows have their babies, nurse them, wean them and get ready for another life growing inside of them.
Other less obvious cycles happen as well. We have cycles with friends, family and our attitudes. Things do not always stay the same, but you can rest assured the happy times, or sad times WILL roll around again.
Don’t get caught up in allowing misery to control your soul when things are not just right. Suffering, struggle, failure and waiting all cause us human beings to grow, mature and find our purpose. Embrace it and find ways to endure the “suffering” anyway.
Can’t find a close parking spot: Enjoy the walk and exercise. Low on money: Find cheap ways to bring the family together to cook and eat. Is your parent terminally ill: Remember the good times and send letters to make your parent feel special. Things not going well with your spouse: Work on yourself. Do you have an unruly child: See if spending more time with that child will calm them down…..and enjoy it!
Lord, help me to understand life gives us cycles and to realize the good times will always roll around again. Please, help me to make it through the tough times by leaning on You and Your word.
I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’
Hosea 10:12
We all know that living life on a farm means we see the cycle of life in a much more casual tone than ya’ll city folk see it. Cycles are seen everywhere we look. It is very refreshing to see each new season slowly unfold; it changes your attitude and gives you something to look forward to. We watch the grass grow into hay, the hay get cut, raked and made into hay bales, and ultimately, fed to the cows. The cows have their babies, nurse them, wean them and get ready for another life growing inside of them.
Other less obvious cycles happen as well. We have cycles with friends, family and our attitudes. Things do not always stay the same, but you can rest assured the happy times, or sad times WILL roll around again.
Don’t get caught up in allowing misery to control your soul when things are not just right. Suffering, struggle, failure and waiting all cause us human beings to grow, mature and find our purpose. Embrace it and find ways to endure the “suffering” anyway.
Can’t find a close parking spot: Enjoy the walk and exercise. Low on money: Find cheap ways to bring the family together to cook and eat. Is your parent terminally ill: Remember the good times and send letters to make your parent feel special. Things not going well with your spouse: Work on yourself. Do you have an unruly child: See if spending more time with that child will calm them down…..and enjoy it!
Lord, help me to understand life gives us cycles and to realize the good times will always roll around again. Please, help me to make it through the tough times by leaning on You and Your word.
Hard Word and Family Time
Wednesday
It’s not the quest for “ease” in life that brings a family together; it’s the struggle, frustration and success of your accomplishment that bonds all of us to our loved ones.
………………………….
The first thing you must do is find the right tree, hopefully there is one that has already fallen. Next, hook it to the tractor with heavy chains and haul it out of the woods. You then must cut it into smaller parts with a chain saw, and move each piece into the trailer. Then drive the trailer full of wood pieces to the 2nd location, here you unload it. When you have a large enough pile, you hook the log splitter up to the tractor and start the process of splitting each piece of wood into two and more smaller pieces. As each piece comes out of the wood splitter, you then take it and stack it into the wood shed. When winter hits, you hook up the small wagon, drive up the hill, stack the wood in the trailer, drive it down to the basement and unload it on to the “inside” wood carrier, so you can load it into the wood stove, every few hours. You can choose to do all of this
OR,
you can simply reach over and turn up the thermostat. Why take the easy road?
Why not choose to do something that brings the family together, saves you money, gives you exercise and makes you feel great in the process. The same philosophy can be applied to having a garden, doing the dishes by hand, painting your own house, washing your own car, making your own Halloween costume, cooking your own dinner, the list could go on and on and on.
Lord, show me areas where I can bring the family together for labor and fun, and help us to stick with it.
Work hard so you can present yourself to God and
receive his approval.
II Timothy 2:15
It’s not the quest for “ease” in life that brings a family together; it’s the struggle, frustration and success of your accomplishment that bonds all of us to our loved ones.
………………………….
The first thing you must do is find the right tree, hopefully there is one that has already fallen. Next, hook it to the tractor with heavy chains and haul it out of the woods. You then must cut it into smaller parts with a chain saw, and move each piece into the trailer. Then drive the trailer full of wood pieces to the 2nd location, here you unload it. When you have a large enough pile, you hook the log splitter up to the tractor and start the process of splitting each piece of wood into two and more smaller pieces. As each piece comes out of the wood splitter, you then take it and stack it into the wood shed. When winter hits, you hook up the small wagon, drive up the hill, stack the wood in the trailer, drive it down to the basement and unload it on to the “inside” wood carrier, so you can load it into the wood stove, every few hours. You can choose to do all of this
OR,
you can simply reach over and turn up the thermostat. Why take the easy road?
Why not choose to do something that brings the family together, saves you money, gives you exercise and makes you feel great in the process. The same philosophy can be applied to having a garden, doing the dishes by hand, painting your own house, washing your own car, making your own Halloween costume, cooking your own dinner, the list could go on and on and on.
Lord, show me areas where I can bring the family together for labor and fun, and help us to stick with it.
Contentment and Using What You Have
Thursday
A lazy man won’t even dress the game he gets while hunting, but the diligent man makes good use of everything he finds.
Proverbs 12:27
We try very hard not to want more, more and more. We believe we are teaching our children not to want new stuff all the time, however, it seems they constantly want more of something, anything, a new one, a bigger one, a prettier one. Where have we gone wrong, or have we? Is the problem that it’s just human nature to constantly want more? If so, how do we reel ourselves back in and keep those urges under control?
One way is to be creative when you need something. Look around and see what can be used in place of something else. It is a fun and challenging way to curb the urge for something “new”. Our swing set is made from the old deck we tore down. The toys in the kids’ rooms are stored in old coffee tubs. The bow and arrow is made from a stick curved into place with a string.
This world we live in not only encourages us daily to want more, but society actually leads us to believe that we are inferior if we don’t “upgrade”. God’s way says you only need food, clothing and water. How do we marry our greedy selves to the person God wants us to be, in regard to ‘stuff’. Contentment is a state of mind. We must catch ourselves when our mind tells us we “need” something. Take a step back and ask yourself……what really matters here, purchasing the new “thing”, or going to the park with a loved one? What will bring me real, true contentment…..opening the package or having a real conversation with my friend/husband/wife/child/parent?
Lord, please help me to understand when my “wants” are interfering with real, true contentment that only comes from spending time with You and my loved ones.
A lazy man won’t even dress the game he gets while hunting, but the diligent man makes good use of everything he finds.
Proverbs 12:27
We try very hard not to want more, more and more. We believe we are teaching our children not to want new stuff all the time, however, it seems they constantly want more of something, anything, a new one, a bigger one, a prettier one. Where have we gone wrong, or have we? Is the problem that it’s just human nature to constantly want more? If so, how do we reel ourselves back in and keep those urges under control?
One way is to be creative when you need something. Look around and see what can be used in place of something else. It is a fun and challenging way to curb the urge for something “new”. Our swing set is made from the old deck we tore down. The toys in the kids’ rooms are stored in old coffee tubs. The bow and arrow is made from a stick curved into place with a string.
This world we live in not only encourages us daily to want more, but society actually leads us to believe that we are inferior if we don’t “upgrade”. God’s way says you only need food, clothing and water. How do we marry our greedy selves to the person God wants us to be, in regard to ‘stuff’. Contentment is a state of mind. We must catch ourselves when our mind tells us we “need” something. Take a step back and ask yourself……what really matters here, purchasing the new “thing”, or going to the park with a loved one? What will bring me real, true contentment…..opening the package or having a real conversation with my friend/husband/wife/child/parent?
Lord, please help me to understand when my “wants” are interfering with real, true contentment that only comes from spending time with You and my loved ones.
Uncomplicated and Thankful
Friday
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:7
When your life is simple, it’s easier to be thankful. You can clearly see and hear the reasons why you should be thankful. God did not intend for our lives to be a stressed-out mess. He intended for all of our needs to be met (food, shelter, water), but then sin got in the way everything became much more difficult.
Being thankful to God is a core responsibility as a Christian. Think of when you given something to someone and they, in turn, are polite and thankful for your “gift”. God gave us His son, He let Him die a brutal death for us: me and you, all of us. How can we not thank him every day for all of the goodness we are surrounded with?
Try to slow your life down, if you can, keep extra curricular activities at a minimum. Try to stay home more often, by not eating out as much, not shopping as often and spending good, quality time with your family, friends and God. When you do this, you will notice that you have the time and peace to be grateful to God. Stillness is not a luxury, it is a MUST. Even if it’s 5 minutes, make it happen.
Less really is more.
Lord, thank you for sending your Son for me. Thank you for my life and the people in my life. Help me to understand where and how I can slow down.
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:7
When your life is simple, it’s easier to be thankful. You can clearly see and hear the reasons why you should be thankful. God did not intend for our lives to be a stressed-out mess. He intended for all of our needs to be met (food, shelter, water), but then sin got in the way everything became much more difficult.
Being thankful to God is a core responsibility as a Christian. Think of when you given something to someone and they, in turn, are polite and thankful for your “gift”. God gave us His son, He let Him die a brutal death for us: me and you, all of us. How can we not thank him every day for all of the goodness we are surrounded with?
Try to slow your life down, if you can, keep extra curricular activities at a minimum. Try to stay home more often, by not eating out as much, not shopping as often and spending good, quality time with your family, friends and God. When you do this, you will notice that you have the time and peace to be grateful to God. Stillness is not a luxury, it is a MUST. Even if it’s 5 minutes, make it happen.
Less really is more.
Lord, thank you for sending your Son for me. Thank you for my life and the people in my life. Help me to understand where and how I can slow down.
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