Words Matter

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords,

but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

Words are important.

I am often angered by people who carelessly utter unkind words. It seems like people usually say either:

1. Oh, when I get mad, I say things I don't mean.

or

2. I'm just joking!

Neither of these are appropriate. Deep down we KNOW that, right? We KNOW it's NOT OK to allow unkind words "slip out" when we are upset or angry. In my case, I lean toward meaning every word I say. I shouldn't say some things, but I mean every word. NOT OK.

AND, despite what most people seem to think, it is also NOT OK to make cruel jokes at the expense of others. While it's good to have a good sense of humor, and not take everything seriously, it is not appropriate to make jokes about other people. I used to feel like the ocassional poke at someone was OK, and maybe it is. But maybe it's much better to just say NO to mean jokes. Avoid it. The Bible says, speaking of the wicked and the evildoers;

"They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows."

How we in our society seem to look highly on those with quick wits and sharp tongues! Sharp tongues HURT like deadly arrows! Why do we think it's OK to say mean things under the guise of humor?

A lot of times it is because people think they can say TRUE things (or at least things they think are true) using humor and it makes it better, eg. "That shirt's working hard." (ie, you're fat, and your shirt's too small.) or "Lost your hairbrush?" (You should brush your hair, it's tangled and looks messy.) If it's not OK to make the comment without the humor then don't make the comment with the humor. It's an obvious dig, and it still hurts.

AND why do some people think it's OK to call people names or say unkind things about them or to their face even? Things like, "You're spoiled." "You're worthless." "You're dumb." Those things hurt. Again, people tend to say these EXTREMELY hurtful things and then laugh or smile like it's so funny. Guess what. NOT FUNNY!!

You may think I'm overreacting, but why waste time saying mean and hurtful things when there are plenty of other things to say, not to mention NICE and ENCOURAGING things.

I am not perfect AT ALL. I say things sometimes that I shouldn't say whether I think them or not, but I am making an effort to avoid saying mean or hurtful things, because I realize how destructive words are. Not only do they hurt, but they stick in your mind.

You can never take words back. Sure, you can say "Sorry", but it's always there. That is in that person's mind forever. "I'm fat. I'm stupid. I'm spoiled. I'm onery. I'm dumb. I'm ugly." WHY do you want that floating in the mind of someone you love, convincing them that they are those things? WHY????

I will continue to make an effort to be kind with my words, spoken, written, typed, thought.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, Oh Lord."

Psalm 19

One Pan Brown Rice Lunch

Today I made a really yummy lunch.

I cooked the brown rice per instructions, only I used chicken broth instead of water. Super flavorful!! When it was ALMOST done, I added two raw eggs and stirred them in. I allowed it to finish cooking with the eggs in it until the eggs were tiny chunks in the rice. To this completed rice I added pepper (no need for extra salt!!), crushed red pepper, a slosh of lemon juice, and about 1/2 tsp. of honey.

It's a meal in itself. It's pretty easy, because you just leave the rice to cook for about 45 minutes and then add the eggs real quick. YUM!!

~CLMW

My Foodie Husband

The other day Daniel made supper for us, and it was amazing!! I might hang up my apron, I tell you.

What he made was Braised Chicken Thighs with Garlic, Tomato Sauce, and White Wine. It was so yummy you wouldn't believe.

First, he seared the thighs in a cast iron skillet to get the skin crispy. Next he added tomato paste, garlic and white wine to the skillet and put it in the oven at a relatively high heat. 20 minutes later, we had AMAZING chicken!!

Thank you, Daniel!! =-D

Respect the Potato

I love Food Network. I watch almost every show they produce. My favorites are the game type shows. I LOVE Next Food Network Star and Next Iron Chef. Recently, on the latter program, a chef annoyed his fellow contestants by continually spouting the same line, "Respect the potato." Granted, the challenge was about respecting your ingredients, but all the same it got me thinking. Imagine that. I get so frustrated with constantly hearing people say men should respect women. Not that I disagree. I certainly think men should love women and treat them with great courtesy. HOWEVER:

Women should also respect men.

Satan is a master at twisting truth. He almost never actually LIES, it seems. Satan takes a perfectly valid truth and distorts it, so it is a hurtful deception. One of the worst lies of our society is that men are held over women on a pedestal and women are put down and practically enslaved. Does this happen? Sure. But what about the scores of men on TV, movies, songs, etc. who are called "clueless", "stupid", and constantly treated like they are?

I do not think men should be "above" women, in the sense that they are superior, yet they are just as priceless a creation to God as women. God made Adam first, and LOVED him. He was GOOD.

Why is it that women can't treat men with love and honest respect, but they expect men to kiss their toes and bake them eclairs? Being a wife and mommy, I know that sometimes I'd like a break. I sometimes ask my husband to help me do things I normally do myself. There's nothing wrong with this. Similarly, he sometimes asks me to help him with things he normally does. Again, nothing bad about this. NEITHER of us is more entitled to courtesy and help than the other. BOTH of us are told by God to love and respect the other.

So, in retrospect, the potato is not the only starch worthy of respect. Respect the crackers. Love the pasta. Care for the bread.

Women LOVE your husbands. Treat them with respect. I'm no expert, but I am fed up with blatant discourtesy shown these men, especially men of God, by the women who should care for their feelings the most.

Last Year's Stock

It's a new year. One with no mistakes in it...yet. Another Anne of Green Gables reference. (Tomorrow is a new day. One with no mistakes in it.)

Anyway, I was thinking about the new year, and I had several initial thoughts:

1. I am not making resolutions. If I do, I have set myself up for failure. I am thinking back, and I don't think I ever stuck with a resolution I made EVER. So there I am. Instead, I plan to set monthly goals. This should be more productive, since I think I will be able to re-evaluate at the end of each month and either mark it accomplished, tack it on to next month's goals, or trash it. I think this will help me to stay focused on what I want to get done.

2. Last year never goes away. It does, but it doesn't. It's like making soup and starting with strained stock from the last batch. It makes the soup more flavorful. I think this is how we SHOULD start our new year-- we should extract the best times and best lessons and use them to begin anew. Lots of bad things happened last year (jarred sweet cabbage does not make the best cabbage soup), but what's important is for me to learn things and use that knowledge to move forward.

3. God has already been here. He is here. This year should not bring fear with it, because God already knows what's in it. He has promised that He has plans for our good and not for our defeat. He has said He is with us wherever we go.

4. New Year=New Chance to do things I always wanted to do. Sometimes during the year I feel like I have missed out on my opportunity to do things, or it's too late to start now. NOW is the time to put aside those feelings and do something new. I love to have tools I can use to organize my life a little bit better. These help me with my goals. I have a planner already, and I think I will continue to use this with NEW pages from this printable planners site.

I know I need to be encouraged in this new year, and I hope to be a help and encouragement to other people, too. I hope to NOT be a stumbling block or a discouragement to anyone.

Happy New Year, faithful readers. Seize this day, for it is new and it is beautiful.

~*~CLMW~*~

The Uncommon Man

"Babies are never common." Anne of Green Gables (the movie)

At church this morning, the pastor brought up the point that babies are so special He asked the congregation who among them wouldn't love to hold Mae. Babies are so important, he said. It really got me thinking. Babies are never common. Each one is such a miracle to us. I can barely fathom the idea that a little more than a year ago Mae did not even exist. Now, she is a unique individual. No one else is like her, yet, not too long ago, she was not even on this earth.

How much more uncommon, then, was the baby Jesus? He was once a tiny baby boy who laughed and cried and rolled over and babbled. His parents probably marvelled at each tiny sigh and stroked his tiny head. To Mary Jesus wasn't just another little boy. He was HERS. Others held him and enjoyed him, but Jesus was Mary's. She hurt when he hurt, rejoiced when he rejoiced, and tears came to her eyes at the very thought of someone hurting him.

Add all this common uncommon-ness to the fact that Jesus was the son of GOD. He was a boy without sin. A boy whose wisdom astounded the teachers in the synagogue. His life and ministry alone were remarkable. His miracles and teachings were revolutionary. Yet this boy went even farther. This boy DIED for multitudes of people who would never care. Jesus was killed in the most unbearable way possible. THEN He defied all human logic and came to life again after three days of being definitively DEAD.

I cannot imagine how Mary felt. I am tearing up thinking of it. This child she loved, this miracle boy, who had done nothing to hurt anyone, was brutally killed before her eyes. When He was younger she could kiss his hurts and make them better. She could hold him and sing to Him and all would be right with the world. Now she could only stand helplessly and watch as His precious flesh was torn and His face was wracked with pain. Nothing could be worse for a mother to bear.

All this makes me stop and again appreciate two things. First, my baby girl is NOT COMMON. No matter how "inconvenient" I may ocassionally feel she makes things, no matter how much it hurts when she pulls my hair, no matter how exhausted I am, it doesn't even matter. She is worth SO much to me. She is a miracle. I can NEVER stop loving her.

Secondly, I truly take my Jesus for granted. Sounds cliche, but it is SO sadly true. I so often forget that He was someone's little boy-- not only someone's, but GOD'S little boy. Mary's little boy. He should NOT have had to die, but He did, because of an unfathomable amount of love.

This is Christmas. CHRISTmas. It's all about celebrating Him. This is Mae's very first Christmas in this world. I pray I will not only love and appreciate her to the best of my ability, but that God will give me the love He has for her. I pray I will never forget that Jesus is my SAVIOR. Not just a good guy, not just a wise teacher, but my REDEEMER, who DIED for ME. He died for Mae.

Merry CHRISTMAS, one and all. May it never become common.

Prodcut Review: Sunbeam Fan Forced Heater (SFH090)

Well, this is an interesting situation. I did not start my blog with the intention of doing product reviews. (Although I don't know why...it seems like a great idea actually.) However, this product is so great that I feel like I MUST share my consumer satisfaction with the world-- or at least the 2.5 people who read this blog.

This heater, the Sunbeam Fan Forced Heater, model SFH090, is AMAZING. The events went like this: It got very cold where we live. I was out of town, and my husband was getting cold at night. Apparently the heater in our apartment is just not working anymore. Out of desperation, Daniel went to WalMart and bought this little guy. Knowing Daniel, this heater was probably the smallest, least expensive one he could find, and he only bought it because he thought he might freeze in the night.

Well, let me tell you again, AMAZING. With our central heat OFF, this fan heats the WHOLE apartment up to 68 degrees, which is where we like it to be. It works SO well, in fact, that we often have to turn it off when we get too warm. Sure, our apartment is pretty small, but this heater is TINY.

If your heater is not quite doing the job I recomend this space heater as a suplementary heat source. It is incredible.

:-)