Hasty Sin

Be quick to listen, slow to speak...sigh.  I need this verse tattooed on  my forehead.  Too many times have I leaped before looking.  Countless times I have overcommitted or said yes without first praying.   My insecurities or pride leads me hastily to have favor with man instead of THE MAN!
Haste is an enemy of our spiritual walk.  It is synonymous with hurrying, scrambling, impetuousness, impatience, carelessness, and thoughtlessness.  The big problem here is that we are arrogant about haste.  I have caught myself bragging about how busy I am, as if this makes me important or sought-out.

I battle with this sin.  I will take the time to arrange the monthly calendar to guard our family time from being too busy.  Our family time is precious and fleeting.  But little by little, the calendar gets filled up as the days pass by.  Why do things seem like a good idea at the time, but later you ask yourself, 'what was I thinking'?
Haste leads to money being spent on impulsive decisions.  Haste makes you gain weight (really, it does).  Haste makes for bad decisions that need attention or fixing later.  You apologize more when you're hasty.  Haste weakens us in our spiritual journey.  Our hasty decisions are not God's best!

God's best requires us to seek him out and that takes TIME.  Training in righteousness is not a quick-fix road.  Reflecting on the peace of God, the kingdom of heaven, and taking every thought captive is the armor we need to combat this sin.  It is not bigger ears we need to listen with; it is thoughtful, reflective ears we cultivate through our well-spent time with God.  God is not hasty, God is quite content with telling us to wait on something that we are praying about-have you ever noticed that ? :)
 I just love quiet spirited people.  They exude a contentment that crowns them with wisdom.

Proverbs 29:20  "Do you see a man who speaks in haste?  There is more hope for a fool than for him."

Proverbs 21:5  "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty."

Diligence is the key component to our armor against this sin.  Diligence takes work and self-control.  Give yourself permission to not answer right away.  If you feel compelled to answer, simple reply with, "I will pray about that."  God desires us to seek him first in all aspects of our lives.  Be quick to listen, slow to speak...
Write it on the tablet of your heart, it is guaranteed to strengthen you and your relationships, help you lose weight, and expand your checking account!

Blessings,
E.W.

Enchanted with Teens

We now have two teens in our home.  Yes, our home is still standing.  Yes, please pray for us!  In fact, it is becoming more evident that teenagers are in the midst:

This is the creative work of the eldest offspring.  He, umm, really likes to keep anyone 5'5" out of his room.  If you can't read the yellow tape it says:  DO NOT ENTER:  IDIOT ZONE.  Did I mention he has a great sense of humor?  Frankly, I love it (his humor and his artistic flair)!  My husband was watching him wrap the tape around the door just shaking his head, but, alas, I think...at least it's not spray paint!
He has always been the kind of kid that likes design.  I remember him coming home one day after visiting with his grammy, I think he was 3, and I had been cleaning and rearranging furniture in his absence.  Well, he walks in the door and first thing he says is, "Hey Mom that shelf looks nice there!"  He is an amazing artist, he sketches in his free time cool warcraft guys.  He has an eye for detail.

I am so very blessed by his gift of music.  He has been playing piano since he was 5 years old.  When he was about 10 years old people started coming up to us and telling us was 'gifted'.  Oh, don't all 10 year olds play like him?  DUUHHH.  Shortly after, his piano teacher told us she had taken him as far as she could with teaching him.   Hmmm, as God would have it the Maryland Conservatory of Music is a stone's throw away and he started lessons there.  He can NOT walk past any piano and not play, he must touch those ivory keys.  Not only does he have an ear for music, he can hear a song 1 time and sit down and hammer it out.

Piano practice is my most favorite time of the day.  Sometimes I feel like King Saul beckoning David to come and play the harp for him to soothe his weary soul!  Pachelbel's Canon in D is my most favorite piece he plays.  I recently bought him the score to Phantom of the Opera so there has been a lot of intense music being played lately.

And socks...what is with the socks?   This child goes through socks like wind goes through a pair of pantyhose.  It was very thoughtful of him to hang up his dirty, holey socks to dry on the rack!

I just love this kid!  He is the kind of guy that brings in a neighbor's trash can on his morning walk.  I got a phone call one day from a little old lady we don't know that he brought her trash cans in and it just made her day.  Another neighbor (he is in the Mc Donald's breakfast club with me dad) just can't get over the fact the he will stop and chat with him, intelligently.  Mom's will tell me what a great example he is at church and how other's look up to him.

Recently, he went swing dancing with a group of kids and some of his friends decided to leave and go get a soda across the street.  He had to make a hard choice in that moment to obey what we told him about staying at the dance, or dive under the peer pressure and hope to not get caught.  It's the little choices that we make all the time to stay on the right path that will make it easier for us to say no when the big things come along.

My he is growing up so fast into a fine young man.  We have survived our homeschooling jaunt having LOTS of bumps along the way (yes, my eye is still twitching from the whole exhausting freshman year).  Now don't get me wrong, he does not have a halo over his head.  He antagonizes his little brother incessantly, he is loud and noisy, and he paces when it is time to leave for something because he like to be early and well, the rest of us are not as punctual as he.

I pray for him to grow in Godly wisdom.  I pray he will be blessed with a Jonathan at his new school in the fall.  I pray for his purity, his discernment (especially  the lies the devil whispers), and his walk with Christ to continually flourish.

Blessings,

E.W.

Elvis is in the building!

FUN, FUN, FUN last weekend!  We celebrated my Aunt and Uncle's 50th wedding anniversary.  My cousin is the hostess with the mostess and really puts together a fun party.  There were costume contests, and  hola hoop contests (for young and not so young), and even Elvis showed up.

This boy can hola,let me tell ya!  Oh, and Elvis came...

LOVE the hair!




























And Fat Elvis came...
Power operated suit, comes with a fan!

We were groovin' the night away!

Everything was really swell!  Remember the Hand Jive?

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!

Blessings,
E.W.

Banana Oat-nut Muffins

Okay so what do you call it when you simply can't get enough of something... I have a confession to make, I am a cookbook junkie.  When I come out of the library guess what I have tucked in my arms??  It's a fun way to be inspired with cooking and getting new ideas.   Today's recipe is another way to cook up some oats.  Fiber anyone?

Walnut Topping:
1 T melted unsalted butter
1 T dark brown sugar
2/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Muffin Batter:
2 cups light wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 cups regular oats (not instant)
1 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1/2 canola oil
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 RIPE bananas
1/2 cup finely ground walnuts

Heat oven to 375*,  lighty spray muffin pan.
For the walnut topping combine melted butter, brown sugar, and walnuts and set aside
In separate large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt, mix.  Stir in oats
In electric mixer on med speed combine milk, oil, eggs, vanilla, and banans till there are no lumps.  Make a well in the flour bowl mixture and add wet ingredients.  Stir till just barely combined (don't overmix-make em tough).
Scoop batter evenly in 12 muffin cups and sprinkle with walnut toping.
Bake 25 minutes.
Enjoy!!

E.W.

Geodesic Domes

Easy science lesson for today, all you need are some toothpicks and gum drops.
Domes have been around for a long time. What makes geodesic domes different?   Efficiency!

A sphere is already efficient: it encloses the most volume with the least surface. Thus, any dome that is a portion of a sphere has the least surface through which to lose heat or intercept potentially damaging winds.

A geodesic dome uses a pattern of self-bracing triangles in a pattern that gives maximum structural advantage, thus theoretically using the least material possible. (A "geodesic" line on a sphere is the shortest distance between any two points.)

This one is made from legos.  You can make them from playdoh too.  You know the big golf ball at Epcot, that is an example of the geodesic dome.  I love easy science lessons.
PLUS, you can eat this one!








Blessings,
E.W.