Monday, February 21, 2011

Guarding Your Mouth

Good morning on this fine snowing day. :)

I just wanted to share something with you that we are focusing on this week in my Good Morning Girls group. This weeks challenge is to watch our tongue. I think this is VERY important, especially as mothers since we set the tone and example for our children.

I don't know about you but I definitely struggle with guarding my tongue at times. I pray that I will continue this challenge through the week and BEYOND! We should ALWAYS be watching our tongue.

Jesus tells us in Matt. 15:11,

"Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

If we are not careful our words can defile us!



James 3:8-10 tells us, But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren these things ought not be so.

Ouch! What a reminder that with the same mouth we praise God, we use it negatively towards are follow man!

I want to encourage you to try and tame your tongue and when you are struggling, lean into God. He is our strength and we CAN do all things through Him who strengthens us! :) Here is some GREAT suggestions (borrowed from GMG).

When you feel tempted to:

When you feel tempted to “put that person in his/her place”, pray instead.

When you feel tempted to spread a “little gossip”, pray instead.

When you feel tempted to “tell it like it is”, pray instead.

When you feel tempted to return hurtful words with your own hurtful words, pray instead.

When you feel tempted to say something you shouldn’t….DON’T…pray instead.

Pray instead, ask God to give you the strength to overcome the temptation and help you develop the discipline of controlling your tongue.

Ways that we can tame our tongues:
1. Humble yourself
2. Put off all slander and evil speaking
3. Put on a heart and words of kindness, love, forgiveness and grace
4. Bring your thought life under the control of the Holy Spirit
5. Talk less
6. Think before you speak
7. Refuse to listen to slander or gossip about others
(Note: These 7 suggestions come from Revive Our Hearts: How To Control Your Tongue )

The only way we can tame our tongue is through the strength of God! So remember to pray and seek God at all times to help you with guarding your tongue and using it for only good. :)

The following verse really stood out to me and is my prayer to God.

Set a guard, O Lord over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Psalm 141:3
Until next time,

~Christen~

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

No-Mayo Ranch Recipe

If your like my family, you like ranch dressing. Perhaps you even LOVE ranch dressing. We love dipping cut up veggies in ranch dressing. My husband LOVES ranch dressing on most of his foods and is teaching our two year old to do the same. :)

My husband does NOT like store bought ranch dressing though. So I was going to ask my sister in-law for her recipe. BUT, my husband asked if I could possibly find a recipe that does not use mayonnaise. 

I have risen to the challenge and am happy to say that I have indeed found a ranch dressing recipe that does NOT use mayonnaise!  

I would like to share the recipe that I have found with all of you. Here it is:

No-Mayonnaise Ranch Dressing

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

  • 1 cup low-fat sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1.       Place sour cream and buttermilk into a mixing bowl. Season with parsley, chives, garlic powder, dill, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk together until smooth. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.


Enjoy,

~Christen~

Monday, February 7, 2011

A little about me

     Oh where to begin. I am called mom, by three wonderful little girls, ages 6, 2, and 7 months. And called honey, by my wonderful husband of 1 1/2 years. My career as a domestic engineer and teacher keep my very busy! As my oldest daughter puts it, "my mom is my teacher!" lol. :) Yes, besides running the home I also homeschool my children and love it! It can get pretty crazy around here and be very tiring(but well worth it!). Especially since I do it alone for the most part. You see I live in New England and my husband is living in MS (where he grew up). Is he in the military you ask? No. He is having a VERY hard time finding a job in his field up here. The Lord is very gracious and has provided him with a great job in MS, so we are very thankful that he has a job to provide for us.
     Why don't we move down South?! Because our 2 year old daughter is not biologically ours. We are praying that God will allow us to adopt her. We have had her since she was four months old. We may not be her parents through DNA or through the court system yet, but we still consider ourselves to be her parents. Since we are not and cannot adopt at this time, she cannot leave the area. So as you can see, we cannot move down South at this time.

Until next time,

       ~Christen~

   
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...