Because I hear it asked a lot…. Homeschool Hubbub…Am I Qualified to Teach?

Because it inspires me…. My Open Door Policy

Because I’m sure we can all relate…. What I’m Learning: Marriage Edition

Because we all need it…. Grace…Heap it on Yourself

March 2000. We were on a mission trip to Chungli, Taiwan.  He proposed.  I said yes.

Obviously I’m so thankful for him!

But is it wrong that I’m thankful he’s moved past the long hair phase?

You cannot prove to yourself that you love God by examining your feelings towards Him.  They are indefinite and they fluctuate.  But just as far as you obey Him, just so far, depend upon it, you love Him.  It is not natural to us sinful, ungrateful human beings to prefer His pleasure to our own, or to follow His way instead of our own way, and nothing, nothing but love to Him can or does make us obedient to Him.

~“Dr. Cabot”
from Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss

We’ve been hit with one crazy winter storm after another the last couple of weeks.

Rain, snow, hail, gray, cold, glimpses of the sun.

We needed to brighten things up a bit…especially with spring coming soon.

So Miss E helped me make these beautiful flowers today.

Super easy, lots of fun, and so pretty!

You should make some too.

Lessons from Life

Courage

One-Anothering

]]> http://www.oneordinaryday.com/2010/03/06/sharing-saturday-58/feed/ http://www.oneordinaryday.com/2010/03/04/thankful-thursday-41/ http://www.oneordinaryday.com/2010/03/04/thankful-thursday-41/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:59:26 +0000 Ashley http://www.oneordinaryday.com/?p=1295 Sweet promises…

If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen you bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
Isaiah 58:10-11

I’ll just be honest.  I think they’re a complete waste of money.  I think it’s so silly to pay for something that is made to go in the trash.

Does this view extend to every single disposable product in my life? No.

But for some reason paper plates have come to symbolize the ultimate waste for me.  And if I start thinking very hard about all of the trash piling up in landfills and threatening to overrun our lives, then of course my feelings only get stronger.

However, as I cleaned the kitchen this afternoon, and noticed the limited amount of time we have to finish chores, take showers, eat dinner and be ready to leave for church tonight on time, the thought passed through my mind “wouldn’t it be nice to just use paper plates so the kitchen could stay clean?”.

Instantly my rule abiding self took over.  Of course it would be easier, but that doesn’t make it okay.  Using paper plates is just never okay.

I have a point, I promise.

Some verses I just read yesterday came to mind:

And He entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand.  And they watched Him to see whether He would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse Him.  And He said unto the man who had the withered hand, “Stand forth.”  And He said unto them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill?” But they held their peace.  And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said unto the man, “Stretch forth thine hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored whole as the other.
Mark 3:1-5

My thought was this: how often do I let my rules get in the way of what I should do?

My rules are all good.  Very well thought out and purposeful.

But if I let them dictate everything, is that okay?

I don’t think it is.

Maybe paper plates are a waste of money.  And bad for the environment.  And not very glamorous to eat off of.

But, if using paper plates one night a week when things are hectic would mean less rush, less mess, and me being less grumpy to three innocent little girls…wouldn’t it be worth it?

I can think of a million other things in my life where this applies.

The problem is I tend to have an all or nothing personality.  Either do it all the way or forget it.  This results in a LOT of “rules”.

And maybe most of the time my rules are okay, and even good to follow.  But there needs to be grace.  The rules cannot overrule what’s most important.

We read this today for school:

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”  And Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength;’ this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this: `Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31

All I can think is, am I checking all of my rules against the greatest rule of all?

]]> http://www.oneordinaryday.com/2010/03/03/paper-plates/feed/ http://www.oneordinaryday.com/2010/03/02/2-years-11-months/ http://www.oneordinaryday.com/2010/03/02/2-years-11-months/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:02:50 +0000 Ashley http://www.oneordinaryday.com/?p=1281 Do you ever look at one of your kids and feel like you haven’t seen them in a long time?

You’re with them every day, all day, and yet somehow you don’t see them…

Do you know what I mean?

Well, I had one of those moments with my baby today.  My baby who will be three next month and is causing me all kinds of emotional upheaval with her ever-increasing age.

One minute I’m so excited about the big girl she’s becoming.  The next minute I have visions of her as an adult and moving away from home forever.  Then I have my own personal mommy meltdown.

But God keeps putting the same burden on my heart: leave the future alone, and just enjoy her today.  Stop jumping ahead and being distracted from the joy that could be yours right now!

So today we had a little photo shoot…me and my almost three year old (I’ve been saying two and a half because it makes me feel better!).  I just had fun with her, capturing all of the details that I love about her today. Forgive me for making you look at pictures of my baby…