Happy Men

Men Are Just Happier People

What do you expect?
Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours. (I have to add to this one - Andrew would never allow me to post this one as fact in our home! For some reason all the garage stuff that isn't his, is MINE! Hmmmm... ~ D)
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can be President.
You can never be pregnant.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Wrinkles add character.
Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental $100.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One mood all the time.
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
You know stuff about tanks.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
You can open all your own jars.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
Everything on your face stays its original color.
The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
You can play with toys all your life.
One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons.
You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife.
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier!

A Sad 'Anniversary'

From my heart...to yours~

This morning I heard on the radio that 34 years ago the Roe vs. Wade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade abortion decision came down. There were various 'modern' women commenting on how great it's been for women and women's rights to have control over their own bodies. Very sad. Control over their own bodies? Since when did control over our own bodies mean the killing of our offspring? How have we, as women, allowed this to happen?

Abortion is not the answer to an unplanned pregnancy. And if you're thinking that it is, please think again. Seek out help from a Christian crisis pregnancy center - there are many around. Choose life! There are many couples out there who would love to adopt your child. And there is a community out there who will embrace you, and your child -- and help you along the way.

I know that this is a very controversial subject, and I'm not looking to start a debate. I'm just telling you my thoughts, since this is my blog -- and since I'm female and also a mother. I've felt new life - and I've seen the life inside of me when the pregnancy was only 6 weeks along! I've seen each of my unborn children's beating hearts! I've seen and felt the squirming of an unborn child. And I have been tremendously blessed!

I'm also telling you what God says. Life begins at conception. Every life is precious. "You made all my delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous -- and how well I know it. You watched when I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." Psalm 139

Yes, sometimes pregnancy isn't convenient. Yes, it can make life more difficult. Yes, children can cost us money. But what we don't calculate is the blessing that it is to have our own children in our lives! And it is very, very clear is that life is started and stopped by God. And God only. Abortion is murder, not a 'choice'. That's it.

And interesting thing about the Roe vs. Wade case is this:

"Jane Roe" switches sides
"Jane Roe," whose real name is Norma McCorvey, became a member of the pro-life movement following her conversion to Christianity, and now fights to make abortion illegal. In 1998, she testified as follows to Congress:
“It was my pseudonym, Jane Roe, which had been used to create the "right" to abortion out of legal thin air. But Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee never told me that what I was signing would allow women to come up to me 15, 20 years later and say, "Thank you for allowing me to have my five or six abortions. Without you, it wouldn't have been possible." Sarah never mentioned women using abortions as a form of birth control. We talked about truly desperate and needy women, not women already wearing maternity clothes.[11]

In a press conference held on January 18, 2005, McCorvey claimed that she was the "pawn" of Weddington, who was looking for a plaintiff to challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion. Using her prerogative as a party to the original litigation, she sought to reopen the case in a U.S. District Court in Texas and have it overturned. Her stance was based on claims made since the decision, claiming evidence of emotional and other harm suffered by many women who have had abortions, and increased resources for the care of unwanted children. On June 19, 2003, Judge David Godbey ruled that the motion was not made within a "reasonable time." The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently affirmed that decision. See McCorvey v. Hill, 385 F3d 846 (5th Cir 2004). On February 22, 2005, the Supreme Court refused to grant a writ of certiorari, ending McCorvey's appeal.

What Non-Homeschoolers May Not Know

Thanks to Kendra at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/PreschoolersandPeace/257413/ who posted this excellent article about homeschooling. Although we're out of the younger (and messier) grades of school, I'm posting this for the many other homeschoolers who read this blog (and their families!) who could use this advice being distributed! ~D

What Non-Homeschoolers May Not Know • Jan. 10, 2007
Posted in Musings and Miscellany
We've been educating our children at home for ten years now. In those ten years, I have observed that there are expectations that non-homeschoolers can place on homeschooling moms simply because they lack the practical knowledge of what it means to homeschool.

If you are the mother, grandmother, sister, friend, father, or brother of a homeschooling mom, here are some things you should know:

1. Educating children at home is a full-time job. Don't get irritated if she consistently allows the answering machine to do its job. If she were a teacher in an institutional classroom, you probably wouldn't think of calling her during school hours, so try to realize that while still at home, she is keeping regular school hours, too.

2. Unlike homes in which the children are gone for eight straight hours, her home is in a constant state of activity. The children are not only home, they are home making messes. All day long. Their mother doesn't even have the opportunity to go into their rooms while they are at school and weed out the junk. And if she is like me, you might find odd homeschooly things lying around- like the month we had a dead turtle in the garage fridge.

3. Housekeeping and homeschooling are mutually exclusive. If she is doing her job educating her children academically, then her house is not being cleaned. If she takes the day to clean the house, then school wil not be accomplished.

4. Place realistic expectations on her- she cannot simultaneously teach school, make three square meals, keep a house that looks like it has sprung out of the pages of Architectural Digest, have her nails done, drive children to extracurricular activities, and have all the clothing laundered and pressed. Something's gotta give, and in my experience, it is usually her personal care. So don't expect her to don the latest styles, have her roots meticulously dyed at just the right moment, and her aforementioned nails filed and polished to perfection. And while most of us aren't slovenly, we just tend to put some superfluous aspects of personal care at the bottom of the to-do list.

5. For many of us, homeschooling isn't an option. Many believe it is not only the best way for their family, it is the only way. Many see homeschooling as a Scriptural directive. When sharing a particular struggle unique to homeschooling, comments like, "Well, why don't you consider putting them in school? Maybe homeschooling just isn't your thing" aren't helpful. Instead, offer a listening ear and your fervent prayers on her behalf.

6. If you are truly concerned about the state of her emotions, home, children, or marriage, offer practical help to ease her burden. Personal time is at a premium for her, so consider offering to take her kids for the day so she can recuperate. If you like to do laundry, offer to come over and get the loads going, fold, and/or iron. If you like to cook, consider putting together some meals that she can store in the freezer for days when time is at a premium. If she teaches a broad spectrum of ages and grades, consider offering to come in once a week or more to teach preschool to the little ones. One grandma I know created "Nana U" for her preschool grandson (number five of seven) and not only did it ease her homeshooling daughter's burden, it created a special bond between grandma and the child.

But there’s a caveat here: ASK her what would be most helpful to her. Don’t presume to know what would help her. Taking the oldest children for the day might be fun for you, but it’s quite possibly not at all helpful to her. The living room might need to be vacuumed, but it’s not helpful if she’s trying to take a nap. Someone once told me, “If it’s not wanted, it’s not helpful.”

7. Think about what a financial burden homeschooling may be placing on the family. The loss of her possible income can be a real struggle nowadays, and you might be able to buoy her for another year by offering to purchase little things like simple school supplies. Gifts for the children like books on subjects of interest to the child, field trip fees, museum memberships, and the money to pay for music lessons or other extracurricular activities are the best thing you could give a homeschooling family. Not only does a homeschooling mom not need one more thing to manage or pick up, she would be thrilled to see you take an interest in the many academic items on her wish list.

8. Simple questions like, "How can I pray for you?" and "Is there any way I can help you?" are like a cool breeze in her life. Don't assume you know her needs- ask. You could just be the vessel God uses to carry her on through this very demanding and ultimately rewarding season of her life.

My Kisses are Gluten-Free?

Here's some new fashion for the gluten-free folks in the world like me!!
Click on any pic to see it larger!

Tag - You're It! Six Weird Things About Me

TAG YOU'RE IT....
Since you are reading this, you are tagged....only if you want to that is.....LOL

THE RULES:
Each player of this game starts with the 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rules clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a Hug that says you are tagged in their Hugs and tell them to read your blog.

Here are my Six Weird Things!
1. I hate pennies. Hate their smell, hate holding them. I could live in a world without pennies.

2. I cannot empty pockets out before the laundry gets done - I gag BIG TIME if I do. So if you don't want the stuff in your pockets washed, take them out yourself!

3. I cannot clean the heat registers out - I gag BIG TIME! Especially when I hear stuff from the registers being sucked up by the vacuum cleaner. Sometimes I can gag just thinking about it...got the gag factor from my mom!

4. I cannot stand when people hand you a candy that is already out of it's wrapping. And, if it's got a fluff on it - I'm gagging....

5. I sometimes write things on my to-do list after I've done them, just so I can mark them off as done!

6. I love to buy new socks even though most times I walk barefoot, all year round!

Ever Wonder?

Here's a funny that I found ~ Enjoy!
If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?
Why do we say something is out of whack? What's a whack?
If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?
If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
When someone asks you, A penny for your thoughts, and you put your two cents in, what happens to the other penny? Or do you get change?
Why is the man (or woman) who invests all your money called a broker?
Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It's just stale bread to begin with.
Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person drives a race car not called a racist?
Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?
Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?
Why isn't 11 pronounced onety one?
If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?
If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?
Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?
I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older, then it dawned on me...they're cramming for their final exam!
I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons and forks so I wondered, what do Chinese mothers use? Toothpicks?
Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen could look for them while they delivered the mail?
If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?
No one ever says, "It's only a game," when their team is winning.
Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn't zigzag?
If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?
Whatever happened to preparations A through G?
If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

Three Responses to Jesus' Birth

Our sermon on Sunday morning was very thought-provoking. I'll attempt to summarize and share it with you (this is a very, very brief outline of what we heard, but enough - I hope - to make you think too!) -

Rev. Bro said that there were three responses to Jesus' birth in the bible:
(1) Hostility
(2) Indifference
(3) Worship

The Jews went back to their regular routines and believed that the Messiah had not yet come. Herod hated Jesus - he acted like He wanted to know Jesus, and worship Him, but he wanted to kill Jesus.

The leaders showed indifference. No interest. They were deaf to it's message. Rejection of Christ - who is on the throne - creates an attitude of indifference.

The magi came to worship Jesus. They were led by God's grace to visit and worship Jesus, the Christ-child. They were unlikely Christ worshippers - they were astrologers, which God's Word forbids. Yet they were led by a star and the Word of God - to see Jesus. They did not give up the search for the Messiah. They offered gifts with sincere gratitude to the Lord. They responded by falling down in worship to the King!

What is the attitude of our hearts?
How has this past Christmas affected us?
Are we just relieved that all of the busyness is over?
Is our life worship to the Christ-child - who is the Saviour?
Are we worshipping the King with our heart, soul, mind and strength?

What is YOUR response to Jesus' birth?

All nations will come to Your light. Mighty kings will come to see your radiance. Isaiah 60:3