Spirit Study: Week 3 Chapter 3

This week we read and discussed Chapter 3 The Diagnosis.  While reading this chapter I was inspired by a few concepts mentioned in the chapter which overall dealt with the idea of  "worry".

Things that I learned while reading this chapter:

1. In Naxos, Greek island in the Aegean Sea, whose inhabitants wear whats called "Komboloi" also known as Worry Beads.

2. "It's been said that worry is like a rocking chair- it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere.  One interesting set of statistics indicates that there is nothing we can do about 70 percent of our worries:

What We Worry About

40% are things that will never happen

30% are about the past- which can't be changed

12% are about criticism by others, mostly untrue.

10% are about health, which gets worse with stress.

8% are about real problems that can be solved. 4

When it comes down to it; worry is really a waste of time. But it's also more than that. Worry is not only futile. It's actually bad for us. (Page 34)

3. The Bible mentions to "fear not" 350 times

4. For many of us, our worries can be like Lay's potato chips- you can't stop with just one. (Page 36)

5. "Worry is allowing problems and distress to come between us and the heart of God. It is the view that God has somehow lost control of the situation and we cannot trust Him. A legitimate concern presses us closer to the heart of God and causes us to lean and trust on Him all the more." (Page 38)

6. "Concern draws us to God. Worry pulls us from him. (Page 38)

7. Instead of nursing and rehearsing my concerns, ...giving them over to the Lord. (Page 40-41)

8. The word for meditate has been likened to a cow chewing on its cud. Instead of gnawing on my problem, I trained my mind to chew on the promises of God.

I like how Joanna compare's our worries to everyday objects a Rubik's Cube, a Line of Dominoes, Rocking Chair, Lay's Potato Chips...

What inspired me is the, "Komboloi", Worry Beads. I made my own and turned it into a key chain.

Spirit Study Week 2 Chapters 1 & 2

Last Tuesday at Spirit Study we reviewed Chapters 1 & 2 of the book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. Chapter 1 is titled "A Tale of Two Sisters" and discussed the scripture Luke 10: 38-42 and looked at the story of Mary and Martha from both perspectives.  Going deeper though the study guide it asks us to list at least two things we learned about Martha and two things we learned about Mary and how we would sum up each woman using one word.  To me Martha is impatient and concerned that everything has to be just right, where as Mary is brave to challenge the expectations of woman at that time and eager to learn and is patient.  Martha I would say is a worry wart where Mary is courageous.  Martha thought the best for the best was slaughtering the best meat and having fresh food when really Jesus would have accepted less material goods for more time of worship.    The next question brought up in the study guide is A woman told me, "I guess I'm just a Martha and that I'll always be a Martha." Is it possible for our basic character to change, or are we destined to live our lives stuck in a pre-determined nature? I thought that it was possible for us to change. During the discussion last night someone compared Mary to a child sitting at the feet of their parents during story time and Martha was the stressed out mother.  Also that the possibility of change comes with age and with God's help. That we need to allow God in and to know, listen and commune with him.  We looked deeper into the following scripture looking at what they say about change: Ezekiel 36: 26-27; 2 Corinthians 5:17; and Philippians 1:6.  The following question I struggled with and did not answser: Have you seen God's work of transformation in your own life or someone else's? How did you know it was a "holy makeover" and not just a temporary "facelift?"  We went on and discussed the following piece of scripture Matthew 11: 28-30 and looked at the keywords and what Jesus is saying.  

Chapter 2 is titled "Lord, Don't You Care?" Here Joanna Weaver (the author) discusses the "Deadly D's" Distraction, Discouragement, and Doubt. In the study guide she has us look at 1 Kings 19: 1-18 and reflect how Elijah was influenced by the Deadly D's.  This actually fit in nicely because the study we did before this one was Elijah so I understood it better. I had a hard time though describing Elijah's doubt because to me discouragement and doubt are very similar.  We looked at the scripture of Mark 4: 35-41 were Jesus calmed the water during the storm and his disciples asked him if he cared. We had to reflect on what this portion of scripture taught us about the difficult times in our lives? To me this said that no matter what happens we shouldn't lose faith in God. We then looked at Psalm 103 and had to list at least five of the many ways God shows his love for us. After we were asked to write a letter to Jesus beginning with "Lord I know you love me because..." and list the ways he has shown his great love for us.  We watch the DVD that goes along with the book and the study guide and in the video Joanna looks at the siblings in the scripture Luke 15: 11-32 of the Return of the Prodigal Son (I love this story by the way)  and reflects on it in relation to the concepts brought up in the book of the story of Martha and Mary.  She calls it the Older Sister Syndrome.  She mentions three Key Truths. 1. Proximity doesn't ensure relationship. 2. God's love for others in no way diminishes His love for us. 3. We all need to come to our senses; its time to come HOME!

I am really enjoying the book so far as is everyone else in the study.  What is nice about how this book is written is that it is very personable. The author adds in aspects from her personal life and her struggles with having a Mary heart in a Martha world and is so down to earth about it.  Things are simply stated, but cause you to think deeper and strive further into scripture to truly understand God's love for us.

Saving Energy & Money

As you may know already my husband and I just bought a new house and are expecting our first child in November.  We also just purchased a new washing machine & vehicle. I am always looking and trying to find ways to save money and help not only my family, but also the environment. Below are ways that my husband and I try to save:

1. Compost
2. During the summer hang out clothes to dry on nice days
3. Separate cardboard, magazines, paper, and returnables instead of just throwing them into the garbage.
4. Only turn on the lights when natural sunlight isn't enough to light a room and only leave the lights on in the room that we are using it.
5. On Sundays I have Bible Study an hour and a half before church starts so instead of taking two vehicles we take one.
6. My husband likes to garden and grows many of the vegetables that we eat. We can them and store them.
7. We buy the family size packages of meats and freeze the ones we don't eat
8. We buy supplies in bulk at Sam's Club like toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, drinks, laundry soap, dishwasher tablets, dryer sheets, cheese, fruits, and cereal to name a few.
9. We only run the dishwasher when it is completely full, we just make sure we rinse off the dishes before they go in so instead of running it everyday it gets run ounce or twice a week.
10. When I do wash I make sure that I have a full load before doing wash so that I am doing a full size load and not several small loads of a few articles of clothing.
11. For our vehicle we were able to get 0% financing for 6 years.
12. We are staying ahead of the interest on our house payment.
13. We keep a jar for our loss change and after a period of time roll it up and deposit it into the bank or savings investment. Coins do add up so don't just throw them out.

I am sure there are several other ways that my husband and I can save energy and money, but for now we are doing pretty well for ourselves with how we are doing things.

RECIPE: Berry Banana Oatmeal Bake

So this morning while I browsing through Facebook feeds I came across a recipe a friend had pinned on Pinterest and wanted to try it.  So when I got up I made it, however I made a few changes to the recipe. I did not have raspberries available so I substituted strawberries. I only used a half cup of chopped walnuts and I cut the banana slices in half. Also instead of coconut or almond milk the recipe called for I just used 2% milk. Overall, I thought it came out well and tasted good.  It is healthy and makes enough for a entire week of breakfast or quick snacks.  I have copied the recipe below the way that it was originally posted.

RECIPE:
 Servings: breakfast for the week for 2

Cook Time: 40 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

·                     2 cups Old Fashioned Oats (or Steel Cut) 

·                     3/4 Cup Natural Maple Syrup 

·                     1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

·                     1 tsp baking powder

·                     1 Cup Raspberries 

·                     1 Cup walnuts, chopped 

·                     2 Cups unsweetened Almond Milk or Coconut Milk 

·                     1 large egg 

·                     1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

·                     1 Banana, peeled and sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl (or large tupperware), combine the oats, syrup, cinnamon, baking powder, half of the raspberries and walnuts. Mix well.

In a separate bowl (or tupperware) combine the milk, egg and vanilla. Stir until the egg and vanilla are totally beaten in.

Spray a brownie pan with cooking spray or olive oil or coconut oil, anything to keep this concoction from sticking to the pan for life. Spread the oatmeal mixture out evenly in the pan. I know it seems super thin, but I promise it turns out fine! Now dump the milky-eggy-vanillay mixture evenly on top. Shake the pan a little if you need to get that milk to settle in.

Top it with the remaining raspberries and banana slices and throw it in the oven for 35-40 minutes and enjoy the amazing smell. Let it cool awhile before you eat it. 

Recipe obtained from:

 http://brokeandbougie.blogspot.com/2013/10/breakfast-for-week-clean-eating-berry.html?m=1

Natures Beauty

One thing that always amazes me is natures beauty.  There is a lot that we as humans take for granted and one is the beauty of the world around us.  I am not talking about the things mankind has made, but the beauty that God shaped when he created the world.  Last night while driving back from dinner and shopping my husband and I noticed the sunset over Mount Katahdin and Mount Chase.  I remember 3 other particular moments of natures beauty that stick in my memory. 

Memory 1. While driving to work one morning I remember looking in my rear view mirror and noticing the sunrise. The skys color was almost a rainbow spectrum of colors that was reflecting off the clouds.  I remember as driving by Mount Katahdin the colors still held the spectrum but the pale pink was reflecting off the mountains surface and was just breathe taking.

Memory 2. I woke up around 2 in the morning to go to the bathroom and I stopped at my back porch sliding glass doors on my way back to bed to look outside and the night sky was clear except for faint thin clouds and the sky was filled with sparkling stars and I instantly picked out the Little Dipper constellation.  Also flying around outside where lightening bugs that you could see every so often the specks of light shining against the darkness.

Memory 3. My husband and I were just leaving a friends house whose backyard is wooded and against the pine trees you could see numerous lightening bugs sparkling off and on against the darkness of the trees and tall grass. Even something that simple was so visually amazing that it bought back memories of when I was young and would catch lightening bugs and place them into a bug contained my uncle built for my siblings and myself.  I remember falling asleep with the container by my side seeing the lightening bugs light up off and on through out the night. 

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiates 3: 11

Easier Ways to Join Colors and Granny Squares Together When Crocheting

So when I was in 

college my sister taught me how to crochet.  She tried teaching me a fancy granny square pattern that had double and triple crochets.  At first it was frustrating and I just wanted to give up and eventually did.  I took a break from it then thought to myself I had bought this hook and yarn I can't let it go to waste.  So I looked up online the pattern for a simple granny square like you see in the video below.  Two things that I find annoying when crocheting granny squares are:

1. Changing colors and tying off 

2. Joining granny squares together.

CHANGING COLORS AND TYING OFF 

What I found the most annoying is all the loss ends of yarn you had to tuck in when changing colors and you would end one color end and then have to attaching another and not always seamlessly.  Yesterday when looking for a easier way to combine granny squares for a prayer shawl I am working on I came across the following You Tube video below.  I at first started watching the video to refresh myself on how to make a basic granny square, but as I watched I was intrigued on how she joined two colors together and tried it and it is so much easier and not as messy of ends to tuck and cut.  

JOINING GRANNY SQUARES TOGETHER

I had never really been taught how to join granny squares together.  I either sewed them together with yarn or single crocheted them together. However, I never really liked how they looked.  So yesterday I decided to do some research and actually found several different ways to join granny squares together.  I learned that you could join 2 squares together using a double crochet method like I use in my pattern so it appears seamless or you can attach as you go like the following You Tube video demonstrates.  It is so much easier and cleaner.

My First Attempt at Joining with using Double Crochet Method.
Not the one shown in the video however same idea.

Things I have learned while Pregnant

     I am currently 23 weeks along in my pregnancy so that puts me at 6 months.  I have been fortunate that I have not experienced many of the symptoms associated with pregnancy. However, there are things that I have had to learn throughout the six months I have been pregnant. Having more patience with myself and others, asking others for help, being a little less stubborn, putting my baby first.

1. Having patience

I have had to learn to slow down and I am not able to move at the pace I did before I was pregnant.  I feel like I move at a slower pace when I walk and sometimes it is frustrating when trying to keep up with others, like my husband who is 6 feet 7 inches tall and has a long stride.  I have had to change my ways of doing things for example I cannot lift anything heavy and since I just recently moved into a new house I have had to take a few things at a time from a box and put it away instead of carrying the entire box to where it needs to go then unpacking it when I am the only one home.  There has been times I had to leave packed boxes where it is because it is too heavy to lift or move and wait for someone else to move it.
 

2. Asking for help

I am a stubborn person and don't like asking others for help.  One thing that has been the most difficult is not being able to carry heavy objects.  I would like to arrange the furniture, but I cannot lift it and I cannot drag it without the fear of damaging the floors.  I am not the type of person that likes to stand around and watch others do something I was able to do 6 months ago. Asking others to lift stuff at times has been frustrating. This is were I have had to learn patience and wait.

3. Putting my baby first

I have had to give up some of my favorite foods to ensure the health and proper development of my baby. I love Chinese food and soft serve ice cream, but the risk of having them to me is not worth it. I have limited my soda intake to 1 a week and drink at least 1 glass of orange juice, 1 glass of milk, and 8 glasses of water a day. I have gone to bed earlier and made sure I am getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night. I tried to eat healthy before I became pregnant, however I am extra conscious that I am eating healthy now.  Instead of going for a snack of junk food I go for a fruit or vegetable instead.  I have had to learn to sleep on my side all night.  I usually sleep on my back or stomach and since that is discouraged while pregnant I have had to learn to tolerate sleeping on my side.  I miss laying on my stomach most of all not just for sleeping, but for laying in bed reading.  I have had to know when to not over do things because when I do I am over tired the next day and then I get frustrated when I don't get things done.

To Be Continued...

Spirit Study

I have been attending a local church for the past year and a half.  I have become active in my church through teaching Sunday School, assisting with Youth Group, participating in Bible and Spirit Studies each week, crocheting for the Prayer Shawl Ministry and helping with a few church activities when I can.  Through these activities and attending services regularly I am continuing my journey to strive for a closer relationship with the Lord and to try to live my life as a good Christian.

I am currently participating in a Spirit Study were we are reading and studying the book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver.

We meet this past week and were introduced to the book and given our assignment for next week.  The goal of this study is to "Develop a deeper relationship with God and others"  The book relates around the scripture of Luke 10: 38-42 which reads:

"At the Home of Martha and Mary 

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,”the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (New International Version)

Some questions to ponder before getting into the reading of the book are:

1. What preconceived ideas do you have about Mary and Martha? Which woman do you relate to most- Mary or Martha? Explain your answer.

2. One woman told me, "My life is like a blender--- and it's stuck on frappe!" What inanimate object best describes how your life currently feels, and why?

3. Read Matthew 11: 28-30. What do Jesus' words mean to you?

PERSONAL INSPIRATIONS:

Through starting this spirit study I decided to read the entire scripture of John. After reading the first chapter of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and our first week discussion I came across the following scripture in Luke and was inspired by how true it is and how much it relates to the concept I feel Joanna Weaver is trying to portray.  The scripture is from Luke 8: 4-15:

Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed

One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they look, they won’t really see. When they hear, they won’t understand.’ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest. (New International Version)

EXTRA: Below is a YouTube video of a Promo Video for Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World Curriculum. I tried putting the Youtube video on this post however it wouldn't find it so I had to link the URL and I also put the share code below that. So hopefully one will work. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvMaW9vDJj8

http://youtu.be/BvMaW9vDJj8

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The same invitation Jesus made to Martha is the invitation He makes to us: "Come spend time with Me...Allow my Life to fill your life so that I can spill you to the world!" (Having a Mary Heart in a Marthas World Study Guide)

Welcome

Hello Fellow Readers...

A LITTLE ABOUT ME: 

My name is Jessie. I was born and raised in Maine.  I am currently going into my seventh year of teaching art and fourth year of teaching history.  I have been married for almost a year now and my husband and I are expecting our first child in November. This past May my husband and I bought our first house. We are very fortunate to be blessed with loving family and friends.    

BLOGGING NEWS: 

It has been a while since I have kept up a blog.  A few years ago I started blogging, but life preoccupied me and my time got pulled in other directions.  I enjoyed it and found joy in sharing with others.  I have decided that I want to try doing it again, however I may post sporadically. Mainly I have blogged about my life, cools things I have come across, books I am reading, religion, art etc. Some of my blogs will be life's general updates and others will specially relate to one topic.  

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: 

Live well, Laugh often, Love much...