Quote of the Day

As we watch Jesus pray in agony in Gethsemane, He has every right to turn His tearful eyes towards you and shout, "This is your cup.  You're responsible for this!  It's your sin!  You drink it."
This cup should be rightfully thrust into my hand and yours.  Instead, Jesus freely takes it Himself...so that from the cross He can look down on you and me, whisper our names and say, "I drain this cup  for you - for you have lived in defiance of me, who have hated me, who have opposed me.  I drink it all...for you."
- C.J. Mahaney

5 Things I Now Understand About Mums

Now that I'm a mum, I can say, "I get it."

I never used to get it before, but these past nine weeks have been a huge reality check. 

I now understand why mums....

1.  Shop online.
2.  Start dinner preparation at breakfast time and give their slow cookers a workout.
3.  Are pedantic about sleep times.  It's our sanity at stake.
4.  Talk fast....do everything fast, really.
5.  Get annoyed when childless people say, "Oh I'd love to stay home with a baby/kids all day.  That sounds so nice and cruisy."

If you're a mum and ever felt judged by me...I'm truly sorry.

I only have one child, but I get it.

The Envy of Eve

If there was a book I was tempted to quote from incessantly, it's this one.  But I will control myself and only put in a few gems.

Coveting is not a sin exclusive to women, but this is a book aimed at women and the specific ways women are tempted to covet.  The book's message is not, "Coveting is wrong, stop doing it."  Instead it goes deeper into what coveting actually is.  It's a sin that flows from the unbelief in our hearts - not something that is based on our circumstances.  We justify our coveting by insisting that if our circumstances were different, we wouldn't do it.  But that isn't true.   Covetousness is described as a 'mother sin' which leads to other sins.  Adultery begins first with the covetous desire of lust.  Stealing begins with envy of that which belongs to another.  Our covetous desires do not simply stay in the inner reaches of our hearts (page 32).  Reading this book is like holding a mirror up to our hearts. It's like going to a psychologist and telling them, "I've got a problem with this," and they reply, "No, your problem is actually this."

One of the ways coveting destroys relationships between women is that they often tear down the woman they envy.  They tell her that what she has really isn't so good to mask the fact that they desire it for themselves.  They compared their lot to another and felt they came up short (page 35).  This can often lead to them avoiding the woman whose giftedness, experiences, possessions, or relationships they covet. 

A good question to ask is, how do I know whether my desire is good or covetousness; e.g. how do I know whether my desire for a husband has turned into idolatry?  The book provides the following four heart checks:

• The object of our desire is wrong
• The means to go about obtaining our desire is wrong
• The motivation for our desire is wrong
• The attitude while waiting for our desire is wrong (page 36)

In other words, how we handle disappointment is a good indicator of whether or not we are coveting.

Melissa B. Kruger, the author of this book, uses a number of examples of biblical figures (Eve, David, Judas etc) whose downfall came because they coveted.  The pattern of coveting springs from our unbelief in God's good character and can often be revealed in the following steps:

• We see
• We covet
• We take
• We hide - from God and others.  We hide either because we are ashamed of what we have done or because we still want to hold onto whatever we have taken unlawfully....We hide our anger, discontentment and lack of joy by attempting to explain the difficulty of our circumstances.  Our gossip is hidden under the guise of prayer requests and openness....Our hiding separates us from relationship with others as well as closeness to God (page 86).

The book examines the we see, covet, take and hide pattern in the various ways women are tempted to covet:

• Money and possessions
• Romantic relationships (yep, I've been there when I was single)
• Family and friendship (ouch, yes!)
• Seasons and circumstances (ouch, ouch!)
• Giftedness and abilities (yep, still dealing with that one)

We all have our temptations and struggles which spring from our lack of trust in God's sovereignty over our lives.  But, despite it sounding like this book is one big guilt-trip, it's actually one that offers tremendous hope, and that hope is the cross of Christ.  Jesus was tempted in every way we are, yet was without sin.  He triumphed over it in His death and resurrection so that we might have His perfect righteousness.  For that reason, I think the chapter, The Power of Coveting: The Cross of Christ should be at the end and not halfway through the book.  For He does not simply save us and leave us to wallow in our covetousness.  Bit by bit, He is at work in us.

This is a book I highly recommend all Christian women read and is it relevant to all of us, regardless of our season of life.  In fact, it's a book that would be great to read in a group such as a book club as it has discussion questions at the end of each chapter.

Bible Verse of the Day

What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?  You want something but don't get it.  You kill and covet, but you cannot get what you want.  You quarrel and fight.  You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:1-3

5 Scariest Movie Villains

Some of these gave me the creeps in my childhood....and still do.

1.  Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty

Image from http://www.disneyvillains.net


2.  Winifred Sanderson (Bette Midler) in Hocus Pocus

Image from http://www.tumblr.com



3.  Colonel Vogel (Michael Byrne) in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

 

Image from http://www.jones-jr.com/lc_mo02_casting.html

4.  Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in The Silence of the Lambs

Image from http://thebestpictureproject.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/silence-of-the-lambs/


5.  Seymour Parrish (Robin Williams) in One Hour Photo










 Image from http://scottellington.wordpress.com


 Who do you think are the scariest movie characters?

Christina's 30th

On the 2nd March, I went to my good friend Christina's 30th birthday party.  This was a night I had been looking forward to for a while.  It was a chance for me to go and feel like a human being again.  A chance to be myself rather than somebody's mother.  Duncan looked after Rory so I could have a night out.

But as the date drew closer I felt quite nervous.  It felt so long since I'd been out anywhere.  I was feeling depressed.  My body will not be the same as it was, and I knew there would be a lot of beautiful, glamorous people there.  I wondered if I would struggle to hold a conversation.

My friends Emma and Peter picked me up and off went to the Crown Casino where Christina had booked a function room.  The theme was 'white'.  My dress was one of my quickest clothing purchases ever.  I saw it, ran into the shop, tried it on and paid for it in record time while Duncan comforted a screaming Rory.   It was a really good night.  I didn't last very long as I was so exhausted after the trip to Perth and weeks of broken sleep.  But I did it.  I went out.  I made conversation.  And I wore something other than trackies or PJs.

Dodgy iphone pic #1

Dodgy iphone pic #2

 

 

Thriller!

Peter, Emma and I

 

All the ladies in white.

With the birthday girl.

 

Quote of the Day

Never be ashamed of the scars that life has left you with.  A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is closed, you endured the pain, and God has healed you.
- Unknown