Thank You God

Thank you God for beauty! You are so gracious and merciful, I do not deserve the beauty which you have given me to look upon.

I do not deserve to meditate on your oceans.

I do not deserve to view your beautiful sunsets.

I do not deserve to ponder the heavens or gaze upon the clouds. Yet, You allow me these privileges. May I be more mindful of the small things that I take for granted. Thank You Lord for the oceans, sunsets and clouds.  I need them, but do not deserve them.  You are so gracious to me.  Thank you Lord.

Got God?

 

 

Yesterday morning, I posted (what I thought was) a pretty innocent status on my facebook page. You wouldn’t think saying, “have to go grocery shopping. How do we go through so much milk? I think I should buy a cow!” would cause too much trouble.

Think again.

This simple little statement caused such an uproar on my profile that I couldn’t believe my eyes. 43 comments later and it’s still going. I have a friend named Jeri, she is a wonderful person. She believes that “God helps those who help themselves” thereby making it clear that she will do everything she can to prevent disease in her own body. She believes she is called by God to educate people about health and fitness.  I do not disagree that we should stay healthy and fit. However, she and I don’t see eye to eye on some issues.  One of those issues is Cow’s Milk.  I will not get into what I believe about cow’s milk in this post as it’s not really what I am here to write about.  We can respectfully agree to disagree.  We do agree that God is real!

So what’s this post really going to be about?  Well, Jeri brought up a very old saying “God helps those who help themselves”.  Do I believe this?  Absolutely not. I will tell you why!

Algernon Sidney (some believe it was Ben Franklin who first said it, he too was a deist) a Deist first coined the phrase “God helps those who help themselves.” Just in case you were wondering Deism is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme being created the universe, and that this (and religious truth in general) can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, without the need for either faith or organized religion. In other words, God created mankind and then abandoned them to their own destruction. 

Doesn’t sound like Algernon Sidney really believed that God was in control does it?

So, then, Mrs. McFadden, what do you believe? 

I’m so glad you asked! 

I believe that God helps those who rely on Him. You can quote me on it!  I can even back it up with scripture.  I don’t think that Algernon Sidney could do that. The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian Church:

For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;

Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;

who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,

you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.

(2 Corinthians 1:8-11)

If we could have helped ourselves there would have been no need for the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We would could rely on ourselves for everlasting life I suppose if God helps those who help themselves. However, John 3:16 says otherwise.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

I believe, not only is it wrong to say that God helps those who help themselves, but it is also prideful.  Saying this makes people sound like they can accomplish something without God.  When we rely on our own power, we fail. When we rely on God’s power we succeed. 

So you decide. Does God help those who help themselves, or does God help those who rely on Him? Or should the question really be “Got God”?

Ketchup and a giveaway

Dear Readers:

I am so sorry that I have been such a slacker when it comes to blogging lately.  You see, there have been a few things going on in our little world lately which have made time scarce and blogging nearly impossible. So today, I am going to play ketchup Catch-Up! Make sure to read all the way to the end for the really good part!

Here’s the updates:

1. We are looking at purchasing a home spending most of our off-time looking at houses with the realtor.

2. Mr. Moo has discovered that he can climb and reach most everything in our house making mommy a very busy lady.

3. We have been traveling back and forth from my mother in laws for the holidays as Hubby’s sister and (soon-to-be) brother in law have been visiting from Washington every few weeks.

AND last but certainly not least. . .

4. I am 2.5 months pregnant with our third child. This go around I have been extremely nauseous all day (almost to the point where I can not get up off the couch at times).  I have been tired and spacey. I decided that it would be best to take it easy and not over extend myself. Please pray that we deliver a healthy baby. I am secretly hoping for a girl, but of course will be happy with whatever God has planned.

5. Our very first  Giveaway!

As we celebrate God’s blessings in our lives, Pick Your Pocket Studios is offering one lucky reader a Pillowcase Dress of their choice from their lovely website and matching hair accessory from For My Girls Accessories. One lucky little girl will feel like a princess in one of these dresses!

Enter to win by leaving a comment on this post and I will randomly choose a winner at the end of the week.

Please bear with me as I try to be better about blogging. I will post photos of the puppy soon. I promise.

God Bless,

Totally Cute!

Our little man, Mr. C was a featured Cute Tot today on Totally Tots . This is not the photo that was featured thankfully. I love the expression on his face, but could do without the drool. We were having tons of fun in Boonville at Grandpa T’s house a week or so ago.  Mr. A played in the sandbox making me soup while Mr. C tried to figure out how to work the hose. It was a wonderful day.

Mr. A hard at work making soup for his mama! What a good little man he is! I pray that Mr. C follows his lead in the department of love. Mr. A is the most loving little person you will ever meet. He is full of joy and passion. He lights up every room he enters. People love to be around him.  He is such a blessing.

Okay mama, how does it work? I want the water to come out! Mr. C what a joy you are! Mr. C is such a good baby. He rarely cries. He is always happy and smiling. He loves his brother. He calls Mr. A “bubba”. It’s actually very cute. He can say Mr. A’s name but insists on calling him “bubba” as I believe he is trying to say “brother”. Mr. A enjoys this very much.

Well that’s about all I have stamina to write today as I am sick with a very nasty little bug. Please pray for our family as we are all experiencing this cold.

God Bless.

Praying for Stellan!

Please Pray

I just recently became a fan of McKMama over at mycharmingkids.net. Stellan has SVT and went into surgery for a Cardiac Ablation. He is very young for this surgery and under the ideal weight. Please keep him in your prayers today as our family is. My heart goes out to McKmama as I do not know what I would do if my little ones were ill. I admire her ability to put all of her trust in God and be peaceful in whatever happen s. My heart aches with sympethy for Stellan and his family. My prayers are with you little one!

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28