Happy Monday!

Happy Monday!

We were gone all day yesterday, and my brain is in a bit of a fog this morning, so Menu Plan Monday will be delayed until later on today. In the meantime, I want to congratulate “W” and “D” for winning the giveaway notecards. They commented on encouragement last week. I couldn’t bring myself conduct a drawing with two names, so they each will receive a set of notecards. Congratulations, ladies!

I hope you mothers enjoyed a nice day yesterday. I had a lovely weekend. My family made dinner for me Saturday evening. I don’t know which I enjoyed most – the meal or not having to cook and clean up! It was all great.

Yesterday we went to visit my mom. We kids made lunch so Mama wouldn’t have to. It was a wonderful visit and a lovely day.

I went to church with my mom yesterday. The pastor’s wife delivered the Mother’s Day message. It was very good. I thought I would recap her thoughts for you here.

She began by speaking of the influential mother figures in her own life. As she listed them, I thought of the women who have influenced me in a motherly way. I have even encountered them in my adult life. I hope I continue to do so.

First and foremost, a Godly mother needs to pray for her children. Not only should she pray for them, she needs to pray with them. By doing this, for even the least things, we teach our children that we can always turn to the Lord with our concerns.

Next, a Godly mother needs to exercise patience. God is patient (boy, is He) with us, so why can’t we be patient with our children? Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, and probably one of the more difficult ones to produce. This point reminded me of my favorite Bible verse, and the one on which this blog is named, Lamentations 3:22, 23:

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Finally, a Godly mother needs to praise her children and exercise grace towards them. Remember the positive things. Teach with the negative ones. There will always be a need for discipline, but a child who knows he is loved and who has been trained properly will know that discipline is a consequence of poor behavior, not a slam on them personally.

The underlying theme of these three points is that Godly mothers must be a living example for their children. If we don’t demonstrate prayer, patience and praise in front of them, how will they learn? God has demonstrated those things for us.

The speaker closed with Psalm 103:8-14, wherein she substituted the word “mother” for God:

A mother is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. She will not always accuse, nor will she harbor her anger forever; she does not treat her children as their sins deserve or repay them according to their iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is a mother’s love for her children; as far as the east is from the west, so far has she forgotten her children’s wrongdoings. As the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; so does a mother have compassion on her children, for she knows how they were formed, she remembers that they are dust.

That speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

Thanks for stopping by. Check back later for Menu Plan Monday.

Daily Bible Reading Plan
I Samuel 15-16; Psalm 101; Mark 11:27-33; II Corinthians 6

Mother's Day 2009

Since Sunday is Mother’s Day, I am dedicating today’s post to my mother and all the mothers who stop by. The little story that follows epitomizes motherhood (or so it does to me).

So Happy Mother’s Day, all you moms, whether you have children of your own or whether you’re a mom in spirit. We wouldn’t be here without you!

I love you, Mama!

Love You Forever
by Robert Munsch

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"

But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!

But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!

But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town.

But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.
(Originally taken from the book by Robert Munsch.)

Happy Mother’s Day!!!!

Daily Bible Reading Plan
I Samuel 14; Psalm 100; Mark 11:12-36; II Corinthians 5

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Think About It Thursday - Swagbucks

I once used Google quite often when I need to find a quick answer online.

Recently I learned about Swagbucks. Swagbucks is an online search engine that gives points/rewards for online searches. I read of someone who had earned enough in Swagbucks over four months to trade for hundreds of dollars in gift cards.

Swagbucks is very simple to sign up for. There are no fees. No credit card is required. And no phone number or address is requested.

You immediately receive 3 points credited to your account. You have the option to download the toolbar. As you search online you will earn a few more points. You can shop from their store with only 1 point. You can get a free $5 Amazon gift card for 45 points. A Starbucks gift card can be yours for 50 points. There are countless prizes.

Greater rewards occur when you refer others. Your points will then multiply by leaps and bounds.

Tell your friends about Swagbucks and give them your referral link. You will earn points for the referral, and you will also earn points for their online searches.

The more people you tell, the more points you earn. The more points you earn, the more free stuff you get. Lavonne funded her entire Christmas budget with free gift cards from Swagbucks. No joke! See her post here with the details.

Since early March I have earned 60 points with my own searches (no referrals).

You have absolutely nothing to lose and some free stuff to gain! Go here to sign up!

Daily Bible Reading Plan
I Samuel 11-13; Psalm 99; Mark 11:1-11; II Corinthians 4