I'm sure we all feel like we have too much on our plates some times. We are moms. I am convinced it's part of the title.
I currently have to get three kids under 4 dressed and fix the hair of two of them. Fix breakfast, nurse the baby, sometimes three times, bring my husband his clothes, dress myself and fix my own hair and make sure I have made enough food to feed us and visitors who may show up at church, for potluck every Sunday. My husband doesn't help with any of this because he studies to preach on Sunday mornings, usually, and we have two milk cows he milks by hand. SO girl you understand when I say: it ain't easy!!!
I used to feel a bit overwhelmed, and like he left so much to me. I know that I shouldn't ever disrespect him in my thoughts like that. Because, the Bible says to reverence my husband and synonyms for reverence are: adoration, admiration, awe, esteem, deference, loyalty, respect and approval.
Also, in Philippians 4:8 I am told: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
So obviously my silly thoughts had to GO! 😂 I mean he is doing an amazing job leading a church and his family, and if I were looking sad because he didn't help me out, it would be distracting him from what God is trying to show him to preach. 😬
I have been learning how to be self sufficient, as much as possible.
Here's a few corners I've cut:
Breakfast of healthy cereal and milk. Kids eat in their pajamas to save their Sunday clothes.
Baths on Saturday night.
Make the same two meals for church. Rotate each week. I make cheap yummy casseroles and desserts I can pull together in a few minutes either Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Desserts: Peanut Butter Cookie bars (no dropping by spoonfuls! 😁) or Cherry Dump Cake. (I can cherry pie filling, so it's super easy.)
Casseroles: Veggies diced or sliced and chopped cooked meat, covered with shredded cheese and canned crescent rolls.
Haitian Spaghetti: Spaghetti noodles, cooked, sauteed onions, ketchup, thyme, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. Sliced precooked sausage or hotdog type of meat. I used homemade balgona we can in bulk each year.
Wash Sunday clothes on Monday, if needed, and when I put them away, put the outfits together for next week. If you don't like wearing the same thing each Sunday, rotate the clothes, but keep them in a "no touch" area for the kids, so they will be ready for Sunday.
Try to have the house clean Saturday night. It helps me keep a clear mind.
Simple hairstyles.
Making my husband extra happy each Saturday night. 😉 Saves time on Sunday, and helps us sleep good.
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I'd love to hear your ideas!
Monday, November 4, 2019
Freedom from sin, by Andrew Schrock
The following is a Facebook post written by my husband, Andrew Schrock.
Most preachers think they are right to be preaching all different methods and principals of how we can attack sin. Like it is a big monster that we, daily, are responsible to chop away at until, finally, WE conquer it by our own methods and strategies, with God's help. It is considered the "on fire" way of Christian church and life. The truth is, a few of the strategies that are being taught would be biblical, if they were taught as strategies we can use since we are free from sin, not to become free from sin. Folks the truth is there is a huge sin monster, whose ugly head rises every second of our life. We don't stand a chance against it for a second. There is not a thing, not one thing, we can do to be free from sin. Forget it! Stop fooling yourself, because you won't fool God. In fact, I don't think even God helps us overcome sin. He helps us to see and gives us wisdom to understand how to be free from sin, but I don't know that he is interested in dealing with sin again. In order to help us, or even look at it, he would have to be reminded of the terribleness of it, and the price he had to pay. But we constantly keep whining about our sin, like he hasn't dealt with it completely.
My friend, if you have one sin that you are not totally free from, you will not make it to heaven. That is why we needed Jesus in the first place. I am glad he paid the price in full for all our sin! He did that, he did indeed, and he has imputed unto us his own righteousness. So he made us just as free and perfectly righteous as he himself is.
Friend, we will not get anymore forgiven or righteous than we already are. That is, if you are saved. Folks, most preachers dare not teach this truth, because of fear. Fear people will just want to sin, or that it gives people license to sin, or that it is "easy believism". Dude, if i'm going to want to sin I would feel better with license than without! Do you see how foolish that comment really is? And which is harder to believe? That we are free from sin? Or that we are not, but are trying to be? It is far more carnal and easy to believe that we are not holy, righteous or saved. That we have to confess all of our sins, every day, to be forgiven. And that we are not dead, and that the old man is very much alive.
But it is a lot harder for me to believe these words which are the words of God. In Romans chapter four, verses five and six: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works".
Or even just chapter six, verses five through twelve: "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof."
These are only a few of the mass of scriptures that teach the authority and freedom we have from sin, and that sin is not to be excepted, as a christian. Do you see the Devil loves it when we dont just believe what God says and act upon it? Even if we can't wrap our little minds around it, we can act upon what God said. We can practice and claim the righteousness, the authority, grace, power, and freedom from sin, that God gave and offers to us freely.
The sad thing is if you want to learn the opposite of what God says about our position in Christ, and about how self and sin conscious you need to be, go to church. That is sad indeed.
How I found joy after sexual abuse
Abuse creates a scary world inside of a person.
Evil leaves it's mark literally in the cells of the brain. Each time someone who has suffered abuse is reminded of the evil done them, the pathway to the mark gets stronger. Each time the choice is made to dwell on that evil, the easier it becomes to return to it. The negative hormones rush in each time, acting like an acid and eating away at positive imprints in our brain, and set us up to repeat the thought process again. Hopelessness is overwhelming. Worry creeps in that faking joy and everything being ok, can only go on so long. That someone will find out who and what you really are, or worse yet, that the evil will be repeated.
My friend, tears come to my eyes as write because I know how it feels to be there.
Is there hope? Will this be our lives forever after? The knot in our stomach. The terror of the return of the perpetrator. The fear that we will be dismissed as foolish, by the one we trust enough to tell our awful secret to. And then perhaps it does happen.
But for Christ, I would still be in this miserable pit.
There is hope, and I have found it!
I am totally at peace and happy, most of the time, now. The only time I am not, is the rare occasion when I am angry or stressed, or when I have sympathy for someone else, or healthy fears, such as fear of driving too fast and loosing control. Looking back it seems too good to be true! I didn't even know how to change my brain, but God in his grace gave me wisdom to change it.
When I think of the evil done to me now, it is quickly, and automatically replaced by joy and thankful feelings. No more churning in my stomach, or terrors in my soul. My confidence continues to grow! I feel so free and happy! And you can too, my friend.
That is why I love the book "Create a Better Brain Through Neuroplasticity" so much. It teaches us how to change the brain, so that we can climb out of that pit of hopelessness, and not only out, but climb to the top of the mountains of peace, and rest there, full of joy and thankfulness.
Order it at: https://nogreaterjoy.org/shop/bk-create-a-better-brain-through-neuroplasticity
💚To each one who read this post, I am praying for you. 💚
To Parents: you can never watch your kids too closely. It is good to be a "helicopter parent" in this case. I have read that 1 in 4 girls, and 1 in 5 boys will be sexually abused in some way. Even if you are a good, protective parent, like mine are, something can still happen. So please, be very careful with you little ones.
Evil leaves it's mark literally in the cells of the brain. Each time someone who has suffered abuse is reminded of the evil done them, the pathway to the mark gets stronger. Each time the choice is made to dwell on that evil, the easier it becomes to return to it. The negative hormones rush in each time, acting like an acid and eating away at positive imprints in our brain, and set us up to repeat the thought process again. Hopelessness is overwhelming. Worry creeps in that faking joy and everything being ok, can only go on so long. That someone will find out who and what you really are, or worse yet, that the evil will be repeated.
My friend, tears come to my eyes as write because I know how it feels to be there.
Is there hope? Will this be our lives forever after? The knot in our stomach. The terror of the return of the perpetrator. The fear that we will be dismissed as foolish, by the one we trust enough to tell our awful secret to. And then perhaps it does happen.
But for Christ, I would still be in this miserable pit.
There is hope, and I have found it!
I am totally at peace and happy, most of the time, now. The only time I am not, is the rare occasion when I am angry or stressed, or when I have sympathy for someone else, or healthy fears, such as fear of driving too fast and loosing control. Looking back it seems too good to be true! I didn't even know how to change my brain, but God in his grace gave me wisdom to change it.
When I think of the evil done to me now, it is quickly, and automatically replaced by joy and thankful feelings. No more churning in my stomach, or terrors in my soul. My confidence continues to grow! I feel so free and happy! And you can too, my friend.
That is why I love the book "Create a Better Brain Through Neuroplasticity" so much. It teaches us how to change the brain, so that we can climb out of that pit of hopelessness, and not only out, but climb to the top of the mountains of peace, and rest there, full of joy and thankfulness.
Order it at: https://nogreaterjoy.org/shop/bk-create-a-better-brain-through-neuroplasticity
💚To each one who read this post, I am praying for you. 💚
To Parents: you can never watch your kids too closely. It is good to be a "helicopter parent" in this case. I have read that 1 in 4 girls, and 1 in 5 boys will be sexually abused in some way. Even if you are a good, protective parent, like mine are, something can still happen. So please, be very careful with you little ones.
In response to a woman sharing why she wears a cloth head covering:
Hello my friend, I'm just writing because I wouldn't like to cause trouble in your mind by leaving you the possibility to think I do not wear a covering out of stubborness to believe what is in the Bible. On the contrary, I love the Bible, and more than anything, I wish to always do and be what God wants.
The reason I do not wear one is this: in First Corinthians 11:13-16 it says:
"Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God."
My hair is a suitable covering that I ought to wear according to this passage. That is why I do not cut my hair short, or shave my head. God gave it to me to be a covering and a glory. I wouldn't want to shame my husband (or myself) by not wearing my God given covering. God doesn't say it is wrong to wear a cloth over our heads either. So if someone does wear a head covering of any kind, out of respect for her husband's wishes, that is the right thing for her to do. God himself wants her to wear it.
Also, in these verses, God tells me to do what my husband wants me to do:
"The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband..."
1 Corinthians 7:4-5
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing." "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself and the wife see that she reverence her husband."
Ephesians 5:22-24 & 33 (I made those two words bold, so they wouldn't be missed)
To submit is to "accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person."
Reverence is "deep respect for someone or something. To treat with deep respect."
Words that are synonymous with reverence are: adoration, admiration, awe, deference, esteem, loyalty, respect, and approval.
I am told in the Bible hundreds of times to be happy... rejoice in the Lord, be glad, be ye thankful, to name a few. So as a wife, I am to happily do what God has given me to do. To happily follow my husband's leading, even if it makes me look wrong to a lot of people. To never, ever disrespect him, to admire his opinion and his whole way of life and to esteem it to be a very good one. To adore him and to keep his home as best I can. To love our children.
In our area, many people wear clothing and headcoverings to set themselves apart from the world. My husband sees that many, not all, are wearing such to fit in with their peers, and in an attempt to appease God's anger toward their sin, in place of belief in his substitution for our sins. It seems that the outward appearance is more important than belief in Christ. "...for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
Andrew does not want me to look anything like a person who does this, as it makes him sick to see the salvation of God set as a piece of how I get to heaven rather than the only way.
He says my hair is my covering, and I believe it is.
Here's a quote from a message I sent him before we were even engaged: "So what are your thoughts on how girls should dress? Should they wear head coverings? And in case you're wondering...you can't offended me here! Right now I please my Dad in all of the above. If I get married, then I will please my husband. (Even if he thinks I should dress like a Muslim, or wear a plastic bag for a cap)."
His reply was: "Well I'm sick of these little bitty cloth patches people pin on the peak of their head and call it a head covering and say they believe you should wear a head covering. So I say get one that covers your entire head...if you want to wear a cloth to cover your head. But for me the hair will do! Now if she shaved her head or cut her hair super short I might make her wear a wig or a cloth so I'm not embarrassed!!!" I've asked him a few more times through these last years, to make sure he still would rather me just use my hair for a covering, and he very strongly assured me that he did not want me to wear cloth over my hair.
So, between my husband's leadership, and the Bible saying that "her hair is given her for a covering", and that the churches of God and the Apostle Paul had no such custom, I have chosen not to wear a cloth over my hair. I want to do God's will so much that I WILL DO IT, even if it means I look very different than many of my friends. I am happy to do it! I honestly would wear a plastic bag if Andrew wanted me to. He is my leader.
With love, Hannah
The reason I do not wear one is this: in First Corinthians 11:13-16 it says:
"Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God."
My hair is a suitable covering that I ought to wear according to this passage. That is why I do not cut my hair short, or shave my head. God gave it to me to be a covering and a glory. I wouldn't want to shame my husband (or myself) by not wearing my God given covering. God doesn't say it is wrong to wear a cloth over our heads either. So if someone does wear a head covering of any kind, out of respect for her husband's wishes, that is the right thing for her to do. God himself wants her to wear it.
Also, in these verses, God tells me to do what my husband wants me to do:
"The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband..."
1 Corinthians 7:4-5
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing." "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself and the wife see that she reverence her husband."
Ephesians 5:22-24 & 33 (I made those two words bold, so they wouldn't be missed)
To submit is to "accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person."
Reverence is "deep respect for someone or something. To treat with deep respect."
Words that are synonymous with reverence are: adoration, admiration, awe, deference, esteem, loyalty, respect, and approval.
I am told in the Bible hundreds of times to be happy... rejoice in the Lord, be glad, be ye thankful, to name a few. So as a wife, I am to happily do what God has given me to do. To happily follow my husband's leading, even if it makes me look wrong to a lot of people. To never, ever disrespect him, to admire his opinion and his whole way of life and to esteem it to be a very good one. To adore him and to keep his home as best I can. To love our children.
In our area, many people wear clothing and headcoverings to set themselves apart from the world. My husband sees that many, not all, are wearing such to fit in with their peers, and in an attempt to appease God's anger toward their sin, in place of belief in his substitution for our sins. It seems that the outward appearance is more important than belief in Christ. "...for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
Andrew does not want me to look anything like a person who does this, as it makes him sick to see the salvation of God set as a piece of how I get to heaven rather than the only way.
He says my hair is my covering, and I believe it is.
Here's a quote from a message I sent him before we were even engaged: "So what are your thoughts on how girls should dress? Should they wear head coverings? And in case you're wondering...you can't offended me here! Right now I please my Dad in all of the above. If I get married, then I will please my husband. (Even if he thinks I should dress like a Muslim, or wear a plastic bag for a cap)."
His reply was: "Well I'm sick of these little bitty cloth patches people pin on the peak of their head and call it a head covering and say they believe you should wear a head covering. So I say get one that covers your entire head...if you want to wear a cloth to cover your head. But for me the hair will do! Now if she shaved her head or cut her hair super short I might make her wear a wig or a cloth so I'm not embarrassed!!!" I've asked him a few more times through these last years, to make sure he still would rather me just use my hair for a covering, and he very strongly assured me that he did not want me to wear cloth over my hair.
So, between my husband's leadership, and the Bible saying that "her hair is given her for a covering", and that the churches of God and the Apostle Paul had no such custom, I have chosen not to wear a cloth over my hair. I want to do God's will so much that I WILL DO IT, even if it means I look very different than many of my friends. I am happy to do it! I honestly would wear a plastic bag if Andrew wanted me to. He is my leader.
With love, Hannah
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