Why or rather, WHY NOT?

Today I had the unfortunate opportunity to answer to the question "Why?" and while I understand that we are a society of "WHY" people it saddens me to think that my children are growing up in a culture that challenges things rather than challenging you to do things.

Today I did something nice, and got asked "Why did you do that?". My response, "Why not?" There is a level of spirituality attached to the idea of why not, and a level of materialism and selfishness that comes with the why. If I challenge myself to do things on a more spiritual level then I find myself asking the question, why not do this, it's a good thing. Many times I come up with reasons but they are always rooted in the material and selfish level of why.

Are you confused? Let me offer this example.

An elderly lady is attempting to get through a door way, a young man ponders for a moment. If he asks himself, "why should I help her" he is rooted in narcissism and cannot see past his own selfishness and his answers to himself may consist of, " I am in a hurry", "she'll get it eventually", " I don't feel like it". However if he gives himself to consider, Why not with honesty he will not find a good answer that steers him away from the act of kindness and in many cases the answer will drive him to it!

The next time you find yourself considering why, take the time to think why not!

Our time in the Hospital!!!

This blogging thing sure took a hit in the last two weeks, mainly because my youngest son did a stint in the hospital with a massive infection near his eye! It's an ongoing process to take a bit stab at getting and staying healthy but much to my surprise it was much more difficult in the hospital!

In a place where "health" is supposed to be the thing, you couldn't find a real item in the kitchen if you paid them. Oh wait! I was paying them and good money, for the cost of a room a night they should be employing at least 1 5 star chef. I will be the first to say that Baptist South of Montgomery is an EXCELLENT place to receive medical care however it gets a 2 thumbs down for health and nutritional well being.

We were very clear to state that we were a whole foods/ natural foods consumer and few that surely there would be many items you could find in a "health conscience" hospital however I was very mistaken.

What we asked for What we got

Apple Sauce (no sugar added) Apple sauce with Nutri-Sweet
Butter for bread Margarine
Fish Fillet (for a 4yr old) Fish Fillet full of bones
Salad w healthy dressing Salad, no dressing
Vegetables We got them, however they were with nothing
on them because they use margarine to cook
with.
Eggs Had to make a special request for REAL eggs
Oatmeal ( not instant) They didn't have any
Juice ( no preserves) They didn't have ANY

What we got

Apple sauce with Nutri-Sweet
Margarine
Fish Fillet full of bones
Salad, no dressing
We got them, however they were with nothing
on them because they use margarine to cook
with.
Had to make a special request for REAL eggs
They didn't have any
They didn't have ANY

While I understand that they have to maintain many different diets, the least they can do is give homage to God's green earth!

We became wizards at clarification and ingenuity, creating ways to eat right. Eric brought homemade bread up with tuna fish, as I was cutting the slices of bread I turned to him and stated " we have officially become the WEIRD family"

I ended up making Catalina salad dressing out of organic catchup, vinegar, a touch of olive oil and one packet of real sugar. We learned how to put enough sea salt on the veggies to make them edible and keep a sundry of items in the fridge on the floor.

I don't think that these minor hiccups would have affected me except that on the second day the kitchen placed a "nutritional information statement" on my sons chart listing the "healthy eating choices" that he "NEEDED" as a 4 year old.....

My first thought was, I want my child to have all this but you don't really serve these things!! SO WHERE SHOULD I GET THEM???

Sometimes realizing that you've gone out on the "whole food" branch and you have no interest coming back makes you feel awkward especially in a place like a hospital where they are thrashing you continually about health but offering you a chemical mixture of fake butter, chemical sweeteners and practically nothing FRESH, HEALTHY or EDIBLE.

The final thought? If you want to get healthy, bring your own food!!!

The Chicken Auction Pictures!!!!

Crisis or Christ-in-us?

One thing I have always noticed about the story of Job is that it doesn't talk about how happy Job was during his whole crisis (Maybe our emotionally happy crazy society should take note)! It did however state that he maintained his integrity!

The story of Job always amazed me! When you hear the fluffy story as a child you learn that the "devil" was horrible awful and came in with a plan of attack to take the integrity of Job. But scripture is quick to tell us that God pointed Job out to Satan in fact He even stated his proud views of Jobs level of integrity!

To get a better idea of what really happened to Job, let's consider the following story!

There was a large family who wanted to be safe and prosper in life, they were a great family kind and generous. To safe guard the home, the father goes out and through his hard work and careful attention he hires the best security company to secure his property and his family. He is very faithful, he pays on time, participates in the charity events they sponsor and even adhere to all the rules and requirements faithfully. He is the most dedicated and integrity filled consumer they have had in a very long time! One day unknown to the man, a group of people come to the company to present their ideas to them, most of them have ideas that have the consumers safety and protection in mind, but one of them does not. Rather than discuss the safety and protection ideas, the CEO of the security company turns to the individual and says " have you seen this man? He is the best customer I have, he is always paying on time, he never argues about his bill and he is very happy and prosperous!" By this time the individual pipes up and says "DUH! It's because you're keeping his home safe! Take all your safety features out and see if he pays his bill then, see if he sings praises concerning your wonderfulness!" And this is exactly what the CEO did, he took away all the things that protected the mans house, family and possessions. Even though everything was destroyed and the children were killed, the crops and farmhands demolished, the man still paid his bill and was faithful to the CEO.

Is that really a human response?

When we endure a crisis do people see our crisis, or do they see the Christ in us? Job has long been a favorite of mine because he was wholly surrendered to the sovereignty of a God, be it in the presence of prosperity or the presences of evil.

Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

The Elephant in the Room.....

A philosophical epiphany about the elephants we have in the room.
We all know about the elephant in the room, the stuff under the carpet or the issue that just won't go away and we have long lived under the idea that we should confront the elephant and that is by far the "correct way" to go about removing it. While it sounds like a wonderful idea, let me offer you a picture, you come to the room with the elephant, you yank back the carpet and exclaim "AH HA" as though no one else their could see it until you did that and then you go about trying to SHOVE the elephant through a super tiny door hole (the door represents a closed mind). The reality is to get the elephant out of the room one of two things MUST HAPPEN. Either you reach a point where the door is big enough for elephant to get through or the elephant has to shrink!!

The reality stands that very rarely do the parties involved not know about the elephant but this idea that we must throw back the carpet and expose the issues, defend them and then attempt to shove the elephant through a mind that is closed is crazy!

I vote we starve the elephant, if you don't feed it, it will shrink and once it has shrunk enough, it will die.
This method is easily accomplished by statements of "I'm sorry you feel that way, but it isn't true" or "I can see your perception about this issue is negative so I am choosing not to address it with you anymore" and choosing to simply not allow others to take advantage of you mentally, physically or verbally. Once you have set these boundaries, then LEAVE THE ELEPHANT ALONE....... DO NOT FEED IT!!!! Don't return to it's pen, don't discuss it's habits, don't even sit by it's cage to see who else may be feeding it!!! When the issue isn't fed, it will die. Many times we have heard it said, "if you don't address the issue it will never go away" and that may be true but you must also understand that shoving an elephant issue through a small door is impossible. You can't make that door bigger only the individual who owns the door, and sometimes we need to examine the size of our door! If we have an elephant issue, we need to starve the thing or allow for a wider door in our mind so the elephant can exit uninhibited. Either way you must remember that you can't make another persons door wider, and by revealing the elephant and shoving it towards a tiny door you will get way too much resistance.....

STARVE THE ELEPHANT and it WILL DIE!!!

Liquid Laundry Detergent ( Thxs Mom)

So in a bid to cost less and accomplish more we are trying the Duggar's recipe for laundry detergent! Last night I grated a bar of soap and proceeded to make the detergent! Here is the soap I used ( it smells like clean laundry!)

The package boasts it is 99.9% natural.

Here is the recipe and directions!

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

The Washing Soda/Sodium Carbonate issue...... to make the search less scary go to a local pool supply store!!!! Sodium Carbonate or Soda Ash is a pH balancing product. It is typically called a pH upper or pH Plus (HTH brand can be found at Walmart in the summer!!) I looked throughout the stores in our area and found NO Washing Soda..... :( After some internet research I discovered that it was a pH balancing element and was able to get it off the shelf at Walmart, ahh the power of knowledge!

Checked the detergent this morning and it was set up and ready to go!!!

Jesus DIDN'T make the road.

Yesterday marked a clear level of understanding in Elijah's path to biblical understanding! Just a few hours after church had dismissed, he came barreling out of his bedroom with an exclamation " MOM, Jesus didn't make the road. Did he?" Like a good parent I needed some explanation before I could begin to digest the issue, so I asked him what he meant. He carefully explained that his Sunday school teacher had said that Jesus makes the road and while he knew that this wasn't right he didn't say anything. But, he emphatically explained to me that "Jesus made the stuff, the construction workers made the road. People were saying lots of stuff Mom, like Jesus makes the hamburgers, the french fries, and lots of stuff. They weren't saying Jesus made the grass, flowers, trees or the whole world. That's not right Mom, it's just not right. And the teacher was agreeing with everyone."

I must confess that as a child he is exercising an amazing amount of understanding that I would never have expected from my seven year old but then again maybe we just fail to teach our children these important things because we have lowered our expectations below their abilities.

I think sometimes we should evaluate the construction zone within our child's heart, it is an amazing place and if we fail to be productive construction workers, faithful to create a road in their heart than we may fail to show them the path to God.