There have been a lot of thoughts going through my head about random things here and there, so bear with me, because this blog is more for me sometimes than for you. But I also think that some of these things some of you will find interesting, pertinent, or meant for you as well.
I'll start with a sermon my pastor gave on August 23. I took lots of notes, which I don't normally do, on this particular part of James. He was speaking about James 3:13-18 --
"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."
I thought this group of verses were so pertinent to our culture today. "Jealousy", "self ambition", "arrogant". We see these things in our culture everyday!!
This is what I wrote:
1. Don't seek wisdom from someone who is obviously not wise about the topic.
Isn't this pretty self-explanatory? How many times have I done this? How many times have you done this? Why do we do this? Probably because we know the answer they will give us and it's not the right answer but it's what we want to hear.
2. The word WISE isn't used in this generation very much.
When's the last time you used the word wise? When's the last time you used the word smart? knowledgeable?
3. We seek wisdom about any and every topic from our friends, neighbors, family, etc. Do you ever go to the Bible for wisdom and guidance?
If you're a follower of Christ, don't you think THAT should be your foundation for wisdom? Not your neighbor? It's kind of a no-brainer...
4. Do not seek wisdom from someone who believes knowledge and wisdom should be divorced from the Bible.
Webster's dictionary defines knowledge as this: the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association, the fact or condition of being aware of something. Webster's dictionary defines wisdom as this: good sense.
Ask my dad, you can be as smart as a whip, but that doesn't mean you have good sense. Heck, ask anyone! Knowledge is just knowing things, an accumulation of facts in one's head. Wisdom is how you use it! And that's what should come from the Bible. You don't have to have a higher education degree in order to be wise. You just have to use the knowledge that you have in a good way, and the good way is determined in the Bible.
The other thing I wanted to talk about is how abundant the web is. Of course, a lot of us know the depths of the internet, all the nooks and crannies, but lately I've been doing a lot of reading. It all started with Google reader. Now, I can blame this part on Chuck's cousin, Tiana (thanks, Tiana!). She introduced me to Google reader a long time ago on her blog. Well, if you have a numerous amount of blogs you like to read or keep up with, whether personal or strangers, this is a great way to do it. Here's my list:
Family blogs (Kami and Preston, Kit and Jess, Chris and Tiana, etc.)
Friend's blogs (Amber, Heather, the Lewallens, and girls from my photog forum-we like to give each other "blog love")
These are ones I like to keep up with to be a good friend, I like to know what's going on in their lives. Some update frequently, some not as much (Heather). But this way, when I check Google reader, it tells me that they have updated or they haven't since the last time I checked, and how many times they've updated (which can be daunting if I haven't checked in a while).
There's also a group of blogs (just a few) that I try to keep up with that I was pointed to by other blogs, very quick and succinct blogs about their personal lives. My blog isn't like that, I think I have this blog set up so even if you search on blogger for it, it doesn't come up. I just want my closest family and friends reading it.
Then, there's a whole 'nother group of blogs that I have been adding to my list lately. I've told you about "Simple Mom", and I might have told you about Lisa Leonard, she makes jewelry and I got Dana a ring from her for graduation. It's awesome personalized jewelry that is very unique. She gives away things on her blog, that's why I subscribe. From there, I was pointed to Sarah Markley. Oh, my, goodness, if you area married woman, or a woman who wants to get married or ever picture yourself getting married someday to someone you haven't even met yet, you must read this blog!!! She's actually been keeping it for a few years now, but she has just opened up about a personal demon that struck her life many years back after getting married. It's amazing and I love her writing.
When I was looking around on her blog, I noticed other places she writes for. Then, on the Simple Mom blog, I noticed she writes for one of the same places, (in)courage. This is an amazing Christian outlet for some awesome women. There's about 20 different women who write for this blog, lots of them have their own blogs, and most of them have their own little crafts or things they sell. I just discovered this blog, but it seems like a great resource for faith, encouragement, family, prayer and hope. It's on this website that I found out that the Simple Mom author was not only pregnant (which I knew from her own blog) but that she was in fact pregnant with twins and lost both of them. It's on this blog that she shares her story and how she and her family, including her 4 year old daughter, is dealing with the tragedy. I can't imagine going through this type of tragedy, but reading about someone else's story might help me prepare for a friend's, or my own, story some day.
It is just amazing to me how much is out there...how much is at our finger tips. Not all of it is important, not all of it is real or truthful, but some of it is both real and truthful and I believe anything you can glean out of others' experiences and stories, hopefully all the more wise you will be about your decisions and actions.
Thanks for reading my ramblings...
Here are some pictures and videos of Bubba using his absolute FAVORITE toy he owns, and it was free from our neighbor.
These are pictures from the park after I got done with the wedding, we had to blow off some steam!!
We went to Cabela's a couple days ago
Him and his new cowboy boots (they don't fit quite yet)
And, don't know if you can tell, but this is the awful rash he got after he was sick, poor little man...
12 comments:
google reader will ruin your life! :-)
I have 79 blogs I follow. Am I crazy or what?
I've been trying to get rid of a few recently because it was well over 80 at one point.
right now I have over 400 unread items because this is the first time i've checked it since last Friday.
263 music items
64 business items
26 church planting items
31 theology items
23 misc items
I'm all caught up on family and friends though!
I absolutely LOVE the adorable faces that he makes! They seem so sarcastic sometimes, and so sincere and adorable others! It's so awesome! Makes me wish I could see these looks in person even more!
Does Grandma Walker ever get freaked out looking at him and thinking "he looks just like me?" She must have been a very cute baby, too!
I love it that you ramble on your blog. I do that too, so it makes me feel better to see someone else do it. Of course I love the pictures (who wouldn't??), but I also just think it's fun to be able to read what you're thinking about daily life, even though you live clear across the country. Technology is great! Great thoughts about wisdom. Thanks for sharing. I just wish the Bible made it explicitly clear what I should do at the moment when my child lies down on the floor and throws a gigantic tantrum in the middle of the grocery store and my hands are too full to pick her up and carry her. Do you have any wisdom to share for that all-too-frequent scenario? :)
Tiana-it's interesting you bring this up. Naturally I only have knowledge of this subject, I wouldn't consider myself wise about it. However, I have a bit of background. I know plenty of parents that use physical discipline and plenty who don't. I also know parents that use physical punishment at the wrong times, like when they are angry. There's a difference between spanking because you're angry and spanking to discipline. Having said that, I completely believe in spanking to discipline to a degree; you must be able to discern whether it works for your child. If it doesn't, then you're spanking your child just to hit them.
A story...I was in the commissary the other day shopping and it was fairly busy, Aaron and I were trying to get through quickly. I was almost done when we were picking up eggs before we headed to the checkout and there was a mother (I would say mid-late 30s) with at least 3 children (I didn't stare), ages probably ranging between 2-8 or so. They were yelling and telling their mother they hated her and that she was a bad mom, etc. I was so livid I looked her in the eyes as if to telepathically tell her that I support her in combating her children. They were obviously ganging up on her. It was like I was telling her, "Fight back, for goodness sake!!"
I know it's not the same thing you sometimes go through with CB, but I believe the parents have to lay down the law, draw lines, set boundaries, and when the children (because they are children, not little adults) cross those lines and step out of those boundaries, they know it, they're aware of it, and they understand that it is wrong. There are consequences to crossing Mom and Dad, and they must learn it. There's another story here from when I was in college and at Walmart at 11pm with a cranky child and a parent who believed in spanking, but that was for an entirely wrong reason!
In your case with a toddler who can speak, I'm closing my eyes, picturing the situation with Aaron and typing at the same time, my first step would be to grab him off the floor by the arm, get down on his level, look in his eyes while I'm holding on to him and explain that is not how we communicate, that we use words, and even if you tell Mommy what you want, doesn't mean you'll get it. If it continues, I give him a smack on the tush/leg/mouth (it really depends on if he's just crying or screaming, the screaming gets a little bop on the mouth, even now because he's trying to get attention at this point) and I seriously contemplate leaving, dropping everything (put it all in the refrigerated section if it's cold or taking it to the front so they can put it away promptly). I will not wait to discipline. Sometimes it's just best to go back to the store even if it's later on that day. I want to be considered a Mom that has boundaries and consequences and I'm serious about those.
I guess I have a lot to say about that topic. But like I said, I haven't gotten to the age that CB is at so I'm not experienced. I assume that I'll have that experience someday. I feel for you and hope you make the right decision for you and CB!!
Thanks Dawn :) You definitely have good knowledge, even if you haven't actually gone through it yet, which means you'll be well prepared when Aaron reaches that stage. I do spank her, but as I'm realizing, different kids respond differently to discipline. Kimberly's kids have always responded really well to spanking. Clara Beth could care less if I spank her. It's crazy. She responds so much better to time-out (although that's hard to do at the grocery store). And like you suggested, getting on her level and telling her to get self-control and use words. I've noticed that I run in to these kinds of problems the most when she's overly tired and I try to drag her to the store or to squeeze in just one more errand. I've found that there's a lot to be said for avoiding situations that I know will trigger a behavior in her, so now I'll put off that shopping trip if I know she's really tired. It's just common sense, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to figure it out. I just always think she can handle just ONE MORE errand. Silly me.
I agree that boundaries are very important, and we set lots of them and stick to them as much as possible. I've been blessed with a sweet little girl who challenges every single boundary every chance she gets, which is perfectly normal. She's just got a little more perseverance than most. She's great, though. And she's learning. As soon as we get one behavior problem improved, she finds another way to misbehave, so it'll be a constant learning process for all of us! But the good news is that she really hasn't laid down on the floor of the grocery store anytime recently, so she's getting better!
It'll be so fun to see what Aaron's personality is like when he hits the 2 and 3 year old phase of life. I hope for your sake that he's an easy-going, rule-following kind of child :)
Hey!
I was wondering if you'd read this! And I called my sister after you called last weekend and it WAS him!!! Bad picture, but cute kid!
I always said Chuckie was born an adult. Maybe Aaron will be the same. :) About the only bad thing he ever did was tell a carpet salesman (in his most high, loud, squeeky 4 yr. old voice), "You're fat!" Then not to be outdone, he repeated, "But you're REALLY fat!" And he was... probably 350+ lbs. Truthful, yes. Tactful and kind, no. It was a good opportunity for a "lesson." Gotta love him. :)
Wow, Mary- that's amazing that that was the worst thing Chuckie ever did. That's fabulous! It would also be fabulous if Aaron is the same way. That would be a huge gift, for Aaron and his parents! I can only imagine what that would be like :) Chris was pretty similar actually (or at least that's what his mom says), so maybe our Baby #2 will take after Daddy instead of Mommy??
Yes, Chuckie was an "adult pleaser." He didn't care about peers, just making all the adults around him happy. Always was comfortable with adults. Even at a VERY young age. How good can it get? Then there was Dennis the Menace...I mean Chip. haha Love him to pieces, too! Totally different personalities. Then there was Mother Hen and helper, Kristin, and "Miss Independent," "I don't need anyone", Kami. All different, all precious. Love them all.
I remember when Chip ate the stink bait. He was an adventurous one!
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