Rural Simplicity

In Matthew chapter 3 Jesus has really just begun his ministry. He is on the road to being famous! He is the new "Big Thing"! (to put it in 21st century language.) Matthew 3 is the story of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. It is a humbling experience for John the Baptist as his big moment comes to a close and an exciting awe-filled beginning as God proclaims that he is pleased with Jesus. Wow! It must have made Jesus' human heart feel good, to be praised, to know that everyone is going to follow him and hang on his every word. But what happens in chapter 4? What happens immediately following this great moment? "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." Matt 4:1 Of course Jesus knew all along what would really happen to him, and how superficial his fame would be, and of course He knew that as soon as He had his "big moment" that He would be taken away to be tempted, but it doesn't mean that He was ...

Being a mom has a whole lot more to do with life than changing poopy diapers, nursing, schooling, dressing, and disciplining. It's when you change that diaper or where you nurse your baby, how you go about schooling and why and how you discipline. I've made a short 3 point list of rules every mom (or parent) should have. It's short and easy to remember so you can quickly think through the questions when parenting. Rule 1 - The Golden Rule Matthew 7:12 "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and prophets." Treat your children as if they are a person, a real person who understand, cares, feels, and dreams. They are not your minions, your slaves, or even yours at all for that matter. They belong to the Lord and they are yours to nurture, love, and teach. They have a soul, and feelings. When debating if you have time to change their diaper, or heat up their lunch, or grab that pair of mittens… remember they have fe...

I think we spend to much time in our lives, trying to make it better. We are trying to be "Better" people, we save to get better things, we try to be "better Christians" by doing certain things, we study hard to get better grades so we will do better in school and eventually get a better job than our neighbor. What is the point? What is our "getting better" getting us too? What are all of those "do not" sermons doing for us? Are we perfect yet? Do we feel like God yet? Is everything in our lives to the point that no one can look down on us? If we spend less time worrying about what others think, worrying about the length of our dresses and shorts, worrying about having enough money, enough clothes, enough food, enough fun, we might actually have time to get to know God. If instead of singing the right notes in church or making sure we listen to the words we sing, we should be singing to God from our heart and meaning every word of it. Instead of...

I have come to realize that organization is a hot topic on the web these days. Although I think it probably always has been and always will be. We seem to all live approximately the same life style, at least enough so, that we all need organization tips. It might have something do with our children... Playing in the dirt Getting into their diapers Playing with the toys we just picked up! Step 1. Morning My bedroom is the back of the house, so that's where I start. After I've done the necessary morning jobs like nursing the baby and getting my husband out the door I start my routine morning clean up. It only takes about 5 minutes or less. I start in my room by making the bed and picking up the clothes, then I proceed through the house one room at a time moving toward the front of the house and ending in the kitchen to make breakfast. And of course I make breakfast before completely cleaning up the kitchen, although I do usually put the dishes away first so I w...