everything else | Designing 31

am I a Christian?

I suppose that in order to know if I AM a Christian, I should understand what it means to BE a Christian.

The Christ of this word is Jesus of the Bible. the Son of God [only begotten].

And -ian has several meanings: belonging to or relating to; a person belonging to or coming from; typical of or resembling; adhering to or following; and adherent of; a person who specializes or is an expert in.

So by these definitions, a Christian would be a person who belongs to Christ [I do, do you?]. aka: saved [by grace through faith]

But further than that, a Christian would be a person who resembles Christ and/or adhere’s to His teaching. or someone who is an expert in Who Christ is and what He teaches.

I do suppose that most of you reading this blog are, indeed, saved [Christians]; but are you [am I?] actively BEING a Christian?

Do I resemble Christ? [producing good works and the fruit of the Spirit as He did in His earthly ministry]
Do I adhere to His teachings [as opposed to blindly following a human]?
Am I striving to be an expert in Who He is?
Do I study His teachings [the Bible] and try to apply the truths learned?

Do you?

I suppose that in order to know if I AM a Christian, I should understand what it means to BE a Christian.

The Christ of this word is Jesus of the Bible. the Son of God [only begotten].

And -ian has several meanings: belonging to or relating to; a person belonging to or coming from; typical of or resembling; adhering to or following; and adherent of; a person who specializes or is an expert in.

So by these definitions, a Christian would be a person who belongs to Christ [I do, do you?]. aka: saved [by grace through faith]

But further than that, a Christian would be a person who resembles Christ and/or adhere’s to His teaching. or someone who is an expert in Who Christ is and what He teaches.

I do suppose that most of you reading this blog are, indeed, saved [Christians]; but are you [am I?] actively BEING a Christian?

Do I resemble Christ? [producing good works and the fruit of the Spirit as He did in His earthly ministry]
Do I adhere to His teachings [as opposed to blindly following a human]?
Am I striving to be an expert in Who He is?
Do I study His teachings [the Bible] and try to apply the truths learned?

Do you?

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what am I leaving behind?

by tascha | 2 comments

what am I leaving behind?

This is a poem my Granny sent my mother long ago… and in turn, my mother gave it to me-written in my granny’s beautiful hand… though the ink has faded to nearly unreadable.

The gift is not in the paper but in the thought behind it. and the time taken to pen it. and the time taken to teach and pray. Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Granny.

A gentle reminder to each of us that the most important parts of our children’s lives are not gained by being able to buy everything we see but in taking the time to be a part of their childhood and SHOWING [not just verbally teaching] them about God and His love for them and their whole family.

Have a blessed day.

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what did you say?

by tascha

My husband sent me a link the other day for an article entitled ‘Christian Cussing?’

This topic is actually something that had been on my heart and mind for a couple of months now, as I listen to my children mimic my speech.

As crazy as it may seem [today], I want my children to be well-spoken, use proper grammar and even know what the words they use mean.

With that being said, it is difficult for my children NOT to be exposed to illiterate speech. We live in an illiterate society.

[I am in no way trying to imply that every single person we come into contact with is illiterate. This is a generalization made from simply listening to people around me and is not meant to offend, just make aware. Words are important.]

{Even more importantly} I also do not want my children uttering profanity.

BUT, what is profanity? What is unacceptable speech?

Is it just the ‘major’ cursings [the Lord’s name in any way other than speaking to or about Him, the 4-letter words, etc. I am not going to spell them out]?

Or are slang [replaced] words wrong, too?

The linked article at the beginning of this post has quite a list of slang-I will not try to delve into that. Please read what he has listed. Some of those expressions I had never heard of. But several I had, and seeing their origin made me question whether or not I should say them let alone my children!

In Psalms 19 the Bible says:

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

If I am expressing words simply to let my emotion have voice [as the majority of reasons for cursing, swearing, or whatever you call it] are these ‘words of my mouth being acceptable in the sight of the Lord’? They have no use other than expressing feelings. They often are not even used in proper context. [Is God going to bring damnation on an object just because you don’t like it?]

These are just some thoughts that have been in my heart for a while.

Ecclesiastes 3:14

I would love to read your opinions [kind words, please], but I must show one example that puts shame on my head.

I have often spoken the words ‘oh my goodness’ when I am at a loss of how to express shock or sadness. Each time, I would feel a prick in my spirit that those words were being used vainly, but I did not fully examine it until recently [not many days before I read that article].

One question I finally faced gave me my shame:

Who/what IS my goodness?

Do I even HAVE goodness apart from The Good One?

So is that not in essence saying…. Lord, I have no respect for your name or the simple fact that You are good.

As I said. Just a thought.

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blankets & pillows & castles

by tascha | 1 comment

upon first glance you must think

this is a haphazard mess!

and, in a way, you would be correct 🙂

but there is control in the chaos!

with EVERY. SINGLE. couch pillow forming walls

and the coffee table edging the ‘front’

with all their throw blankets spread out.

one on top of the other.

[cause no one’s blanket can be left out!]

my girls lounge in their CASTLE!

can you find them? LOL

and yes, they KNOW they are PRINCESSES!

My girls ask to play CASTLE- and I know that I will have, at the very least, 30 minutes of relative harmony and very few questions. Of course, there is the mess. But he who makes a mess… you know it! Cleans it up! Mostly it is just putting the pillows back on the couches and taking their blankets back to their room…

and they will sit in their CASTLE and read books, color, watch TV, and play general make-believe very nicely-so I help them get all those stuffed animals back to their basket when it’s all done.

works for me .2

by tascha | 4 comments

taming the hair bows

[inspired by]

a cork board with no home

[and extra ribbon]

lightly spray painted white

[craft glue]

a pack of magnets
[from the craft store or walmart]

add hair bows

lots & LOTS of hair bows!

[going to put on pegs]
[to hang head bands and elastics]

And hang on the wall. Ours is not permanently hung anywhere yet, but it is very helpful for the girls to have a place that their bows BELONG. The decorativeness of it is just a bonus-that makes it FUN to put them away. oh YES!

AND, as you can see, we have plenty of room for MORE bows

-guess I’d better get busy. {{smiles}}

for hanging hair bands

[inspiration from another project]

EDITED TO ADD:

[places to buy bows]

Rachel’s Ribbon Candy

Chic Made Cheap

COMPLETED

PROJECT