Obedience

What does the word obedience mean?  It is a willful submission to authority. 

What kind of attitude does God want from us in regards to obedience?  Our attitude should be positive because we have a desire to please God.

  To obey God I think is one of our most important things that God will ask us to do.  And to obey with a cheerful heart is even better.  How many times have we had to do something and we did what we had to do but on the inside we were really rebelling?  I'm reminded of the story where the Mom told the little boy to sit down.  The little boy did not want to sit down but he did anyway and he said I may be sitting on the outside but I'm standing on the inside.  Do we do that with God?  We need to be willing to obey God with a cheerful heart because we want to make Him happy.

Let's look at the story in Genesis 6 - 8 where it talks about Noah building the ark.  Noah had never seen it rain before so do you think he felt silly for building the ark?  It is hard to know exactly how long it took Noah to build the ark but some people say anywhere between 80 and 120 years.  It really doesn't matter how long it took to actually build the ark, that is really irrelevant, but to know that Noah was willing to obey God that long and not give up is something we should all try to achieve.  How many times have I felt that God was telling me to do something and then after a few tries I give up because I don't have the patience to continue and I figure that I must have misheard God.  Noah was obedient and never gave up being obedient to God. 

What do you think would have happened if Noah had given up and had not obeyed God when he told him to build the ark?  What kind of consequences would Noah's disobedience have on his family?

It's easier to obey when everyone else is obeying but how do you think Noah felt when maybe his friends and neighbors made fun of him for building the ark and telling everyone there was going to be a flood?  We have to be responsible for our own actions so we need to obey just like Noah did even if everyone else is not.  Let's say you are in class and the teacher has to step out of the room for a minute but she tells everyone to stay in their desks and not talk while she is gone.  It's easy to do that if everyone else is obeying but if everyone else starts talking and getting up and moving around it's very hard not to follow them.  Why would this be hard?  Because lots of times people will make fun of us if we don't follow them and we decide to follow the rules.

How does our obedience affect others?

How does our disobedience affect others?

Homemade Laundry Detergent

A few years ago I decided after reading online about so many people making their own laundry detergent that I was going to attempt to make some too.  I figured if we didn't like it then I would just switch back to my regular Tide that I had been using for so many years.  I already had a plastic container that I used to keep my Tide in so I just decided to use that container.

The ingredients are:

2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda
1 cup Baking Soda
1 bar of Fels Naptha Soap (I have also used Ivory soap)

I usually triple my recipe when I make it so that is why you see three bars of the soap on the table. 

First I cut the soap into cubes:

Then I put one bar at a time into my food processor (I have a small food processor so I can only do one batch at a time)     

 Next I add 2 cups of washing soda, 2 cups of borax and 1 cup of baking soda to the food processor and mix until everything is mixed together and in a powder form.

I repeat this two other times until I have tripled the recipe.   Now, when I want to wash clothes I just add 1 teaspoon of detergent to the washer while I am filling it with water and then I add the clothes.  I prefer adding the detergent into the water before I add any clothes so I can be sure that my detergent will dissolve.

Turkey Pot Pie

Last night we had our 50 plus 1 dinner at our church.   I had a hard time deciding what to make but I finally decided to make a turkey pot pie.
It was very easy.  All I did was saute some onions in a little bit of butter and added that to about two cups of diced turkey.  I chopped up one potato and then boiled it until it was almost done.  I added the potato to the turkey and onions along with one can of cream of chicken soup.  I added a little bit of the water from the potatoes to the mixture and then covered with a pie crust.  Easy, but yet delicious.
Not a great picture but here is the turkey pot pie before I took it to church.

I brought home an empty bowl so I guess everyone enjoyed it!

Today was my very first piano lesson!!!!  I know, usually just kids take piano lessons but I have ALWAYS wanted to play the piano and I finally decided to just go for it.  Over the years I have tried to teach myself and I made some progress  but I think having a teacher that will hold me accountable and also be able to help me if I get stuck on something is going to be great!  Can you tell I am just a little bit excited!
Today I learned the C and G chords, which I already knew and I learned the C and G arpeggio (not sure I spelled that correctly!) which was something totally new to me.  I am also working on the song, For the Beauty of the Earth.
Now just to make sure I practice EVERY day and really work hard.  My lessons will be on Mondays at 2:00 so stay tuned to next week to find out the next thing I learn on the piano.

Peacemaking

What does peace mean to you?  not fighting, getting along

Can you think of  a Bible verse that mentions peace?
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.  Matthew 5:9

Do you know what the word contention means?  It means  being in a disagreement.

An opinion is a personal belief that is not founded on proof.

What should we base our beliefs on?  God's word, not our feelings or emotions.

We all know the story of Joseph and his brothers.    What do you think would have happened if Joseph's brothers had not been jealous of him and hated him?  

Let's say that Abbie and I are throwing a ball back and forth to each other.  I decide to just stop playing and walk away.  If we pretend that the ball is an argument then if I have stopped throwing the ball (or arguing) with her then it is hard for the argument to continue.  So, let's try to remember that we don't have to get the last word in an argument, we can just walk away.

Another way to handle arguments is by remember Proverbs 15:1  A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 

How does our arguing effect others?

How can we practice being a peacemaker?

Humility

What does Humility mean?  Being humble, modest, not proud.  When we do something out of the goodness of our heart, not for ourselves.  Thinking that you are not better than other people.  Can you think of a time this past week that you showed humility?

What does it mean to shift blame?  To try to make someone else accountable for your actions. 
Do you think you have ever shifted blame to someone else?
How do you think shifting blame affects others?

Let's read Genesis 2: -3:11   This is the story of Adam and Eve and the serpent

Both Adam and Eve chose to disobey God.  How do you think life would have been different if they had not disobeyed God?

In Genesis 3: 8-13 Adam and Eve tried to cover up their sin and then they  both blamed someone else for their actions.  

Are we able to hide our sin from God?
Did it benefit Adam or Eve by trying to blame someone else for their actions?

How does the Bible tell us to handle our sins?
In James 1: 9 it states:  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

The parable of the two sons

We are starting our lesson today preparing for Easter.  Easter will be here in just a couple of weeks and I thought it would be good to learn a little about Lent.   What is lent? Lent is to prepare men for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ.  Lent lasts for 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter.  Many people mark their foreheads with ash and they will abstain from certain foods or things they enjoy for 40 days.  This is done to supposedly imitate Jesus' forty days that he spent in the wilderness.  (Matthew 4: 1 - 2) 

As a whole Baptists don't celebrate Lent, but I am thinking of ways that I can prepare better for Easter or maybe just better for my spiritual life.  Should I give up something or should I add something to my spiritual walk?   Maybe we could try to memorize just one Bible verse a day until Easter.  Like I said before Lent usually starts 40 days before Easter and it is only 14 days until Easter but I think I will try to do something to strengthen my walk with Jesus by Easter and hopefully it will continue on past Easter to the rest of the year.

Today our lesson is on the parable of the two sons:
Luke 15:11-32

Jesus told this parable of the two sons when he was trying to help people understand more about God's love. He said there was much joy among the angels and God over one wicked person who repents of his past sins and comes back to the Lord. The story Jesus said was:

There was a man who had two sons. The older son was a good and hard worker. The younger son told his father "give me the part of the property that is mine because I want my inheritance now"! So the father gave him the money from his half of the inheritance and the younger son traveled to another country wasting his money recklessly. He spent all day partying and spending his money until he had nothing left. A great famine fell upon the country and the son had no food, no friends and was forced to take the lowly job of looking after pigs and feeding them. He was so hungry that he could have eaten the pigs food because no one helped him or gave him anything. He thought that even his fathers servants have a better life than he and also plenty of food. He then decided to go back home and plead to him to his Father that he had sinned against God and his father, and he wasn't worthy to be his son anymore, and wanted to just be a servant of his dad. As he headed home, his father saw the youngest of the sons a long way off in the distance and began to run to him and hugged and kissed him. The son began to say to him that he had sinned against him and God and was not fit to be his son anymore. But his father stopped him and asked his servants to bring the best robe for him quickly, as well as a ring for his finger and sandals for his bare feet. His father also ordered the servants to prepare the biggest calf for a great feast and party to welcome the son home. The father said to his servants "Look, my son was dead, but now he is alive, he was lost but now he is found". They all then began to celebrate. The oldest son was returning from the field and heard music and dancing and asked a servant what was going on. He was told it was a homecoming party for his younger brother. The older brother became very angry and did not join the party. Then his father came out and the older son turned away and said to his father "I can't believe I've served you obediently all these years and I have never received a party, but my good for nothing little brother returns and is treated like royalty!" The father responded "Son you have always been with me and everything I have is yours. I thought your brother was dead and lost but I have found him alive and well so I am happy he has returned". 

Who does the Father in the story remind you of?

How would you have felt if you were the oldest brother?

Do you think the older brother was jealous?

Do you ever feel jealous?