Hello Dear Ones, it’s been awhile but I’m still kickin’. You know, the world is a scary place sometimes…especially with terrorist attacks and such. There’s a lot of darkness, and we have access to that darkness 24/7. It is broadcast through our screens and airwaves. As I look at my little family I feel pretty small in this world, but through Christ, we are a light. We try to share love and hope. Sometimes the darkness attacks us. Sometimes it is an unwelcomed guest that pretends to be family. But by Christ’ strength, the darkness is held back. The love and light of Jesus flickers against a dark and scary world.
Dear ones, I implore you to hold to the light. Don’t snuff it out. I’m sure my readers aren’t terrorists, and that you are all the best of people. After all, you have a lot of grace to keep track of me. So how in the world could caring honest people snuff out the light? Well, here are some ways:
Focus on the darkness. Let it consume you. Only watch the bad news, until anxiety robs you of the light.
Take your fears and anger out on others. Let fear drive you to hate.
Keep yourself so busy and stressed that you take it out on your family.
Don’t show love, peace, and joy. Don’t look for the light. Don’t surround yourself with light.
Don’t get to know the light and don’t let Him be your source. Avoid Jesus.
Bury your head in the sand. Shut people out completely. Hide from the world and close yourself off.
Don’t answer the plight of the fatherless and the widow, the sick and the poor. Care only about yourself and your wants. Don’t get involved.
I am preaching to the choir. When life is scary it is very tempting for me to run and hide. I put up walls. It is by God’s grace that he sends people and circumstances to break them down. Jesus nudges me out of the door. So the above list is all about ways you can snuff out the light. I really don’t want you or I to do those things. So how do we shine the light? How do we be the candle in the darkness? How are we to warm this cold world? Do and be the opposite of the first list. Here’s how to be the light:
First, know Jesus intimately. Accept Christ’ free gift of salvation and let Jesus fill you with His love, hope, and peace. Allow Jesus to be your source of light and life, because HE IS the LIGHT and Life. (Matthew 4:16, John 8:12) *All these verses are at the bottom.
Focus on what is good and true. Focus on the light. When you hear and see bad news, take it to Jesus. Pray, and accept what you can and can’t do in the situation. Then let it go.
(Matthew 6:22-23, Philippians 4:8)
Give yourself time to breathe…time to enjoy the simple and beautiful things in life. Enjoy your family. Love and forgive them. You need their support. The world is too dark to face it alone. Don’t lose your loved ones over petty things. (Ephesians 5:21)
Take your fears and anger to Jesus. Pray and ask Christ to help you to forgive and love. Abide in Jesus and get rooted in His love. Let God’s love assure you that He is in control and God is bigger than any of your fears. (1 John 4:18)
Even though you’ve been hurt, don’t put up walls. Keep yourself open to people. Be involved in community and shine Jesus’ light to as many people as you can. You need people, because you are HUMAN. God made you for relationship and you are stronger when you are surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ.
Take your focus off of yourself and help the needy. Feed the hungry, minister to the sick, and love the abandoned and unloved. Get involved in the causes God calls you to. When the world is dark, there is always someone who needs help. Help them.
Matthew 5:14-16 KJV
“14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
No matter what evil comes into our world or tempts us, if we belong to Jesus then we have light. There is hope. I know it is hard to see hope when all we hear is bad news. But if you look for the light you will find it, because when it is pitch dark the light shines brighter…even little candles. You and I may be little candles, but we are bright. I love you all, Dear ones. Don’t snuff out the light. Shine.
God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
“16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.”
John 8:12 KJV
“12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
Matthew 6:22-23
“22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
Philippians 4:8
“8 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.”
Ephesians 5:21 KJV
“21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”
1 John 4:18
“18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
Dear ones, today I want to talk to you about legalism and grace. What do these terms mean? What does scripture say about it? I ask the Lord to take away our misconceptions and to shine His light on the Truth. May he type through me.
Titus 3:4-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“4 But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior to man [as man] appeared,
5 He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6 Which He poured out [so] richly upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.
7 [And He did it in order] that we might be justified by His grace (by His favor, wholly undeserved), [that we might be acknowledged and counted as conformed to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action], and that we might become heirs of eternal life according to [our] hope.”
I want to talk to you as a fellow student. I have worn the many masks of legalism. It invades all areas of life and sucks away the joy until you feel dead inside. Let me clear up a misconception before we begin.
Grace does not mean sinning all you want with no consequences. And having standards does not mean you are a legalist. By all means, follow the speed limit, don’t murder, don’t steal. The difference between legalism and grace is found in the heart…not necessarily outward actions.
Grace- unmerited favor and mercy.
Romans 3:23-24Amplified Bible (AMP)
“23 Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory [a]which God bestows and receives.
24[All] are justified and made uprightand in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus,”
For more info on justification and the meaning of other important Biblical terms check out this post:
1. Emphasis on the letter rather than on the spirit of the law;
2. Belief in salvation by obedience to the law rather than by the grace of God or by faith;
3. Undue stress on legal details without balancing considerations of justice and mercy.
Legalism only demands that the law be satisfied.”
~Grace that Breaks the Chains pg 27 (originally taken from The Dictionary of Religious Terms)
Legalism exalts man as god. The gospel of legalism says “I can earn my salvation.” “I can keep my salvation.” “I can please God on my own.” “I am good.” “I am righteous.”
The gospel of Grace says “Jesus is my salvation.” “Jesus keeps me.” “Jesus is my goodness.” “Jesus is my righteousness.” “Without Jesus I can do nothing, but with Jesus I can do all things.”
Grace empowers us to live right, through relationship with Christ.
Legalism chains us to the impossible task of being good in our own strength. It inflates our pride when we do well. It brings us into the pit of depression when we fail.
Grace or legalism? Which is in your heart? Look at the root. Are you trying to earn God’s favor by your good works, or are your good works the result of your love relationship with God?
True Christians know that we are saved by grace, but even Christians can be legalistic. We know that grace through Jesus’ blood initially saves us, but then we think to live the Christian life we must try hard and do good works. Jesus saved us but we don’t expect Him to sanctify us. We look to our own strength. We think our good works will KEEP God’s favor. Dear ones, that is backwards. It is God’s grace that enables us to live right. It is the blood of Jesus that sanctifies us continually. We can not do it on our own.
Ephesians 2:8-9Amplified Bible (AMP)
“8 For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved ([a]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;
9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]”
“Man was never designed nor expected to keep God’s commands on his own, nor was strict adherence to law ever God’s way of making man righteous. It has always been by faith. Seeking to achieve right standing with God by religious performance would be like expecting a mirror to wash the dirt off your face. The purpose of the mirror is not to clean you, but to reveal the dirt. In the same way, ‘through the Law comes the knowledge of sin’ (Romans 3:20), not the power to remove it.“
~Grace that Breaks the Chains pg 28
So often we miss the purpose of the law, because we miss the Person who made the law (meaning the commands given in scripture). The Law, the feasts, the Sabbath…everything was made to point to God, to Jesus. Even in the New Testament…Jesus’ teachings, the parables, communion, baptism, putting on the armor of God…all made to point us to Jesus. The law shows us that we are helpless without God. We are missing something. We are in desperate need of God. If we try to follow the letter of the law so we can be good people or even to earn God’s favor, then we have missed the point.
James 2:10Amplified Bible (AMP)
“10 For whosoever keeps the Law [as a] whole but stumbles and offends in one [single instance] has become guilty of [breaking] all of it.”
The Bible makes it clear that we as humans are unable to completely keep the law. We will fail. So why did God give us commands if we can’t keep them? Friends, God is good. He loves us. He wants us to see that He is what we are missing. Humans need God’s help to live. We need relationship with God. We can not be righteous, but Jesus can be righteous for us. Jesus sacrificed Himself so His blood will cover our sin. Truly without God we are naked and in the dark, with no way of turning on the light and clothing ourselves. Only God can turn on the light and clothe us. God gave the law so we would turn to Him for help. So we would realize we are not god. We were never mean’t to live independently from God. We were never mean’t to do everything in our own strength.
Galatians 3:24-26 KJV
“24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:3 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“3 Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh?”
Acts 13:38-39 KJV
“38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
Romans 3:19-20 Amplified Version
“19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that [the murmurs and excuses of] every mouth may be hushed and all the world may be held accountable to God.
20 For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [[a]not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character].”
Romans 5:19-21King James Version (KJV)
“19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Legalism is a deceptive tool of the enemy. Legalism appears to be holy, but it is rotten to the core. Do you seem good on the outside but inside you are dying? Is your church a hateful place with no life in it? Are you losing members to the world? You might be legalistic. You see Legalism may seem to work for a bit. When you parent a child with an iron fist and no grace, they may be compliant for awhile, but inside legalism will spawn rebellion, bitterness, and defeat. Legalism simply does not work.
I get it. Some of us are scared of grace because we’ve seen the term misused. The world and carnal Christians have used “grace” as a way to excuse all manner of sin. Maybe you’ve been hurt by someone who said “Hey, don’t judge me.” The subject of grace has been horribly abused and so many misunderstand the meaning because of that. Dear ones, please don’t miss out on the power and goodness of Jesus’ grace. When someone truly accepts God’s grace they will live a beautiful empowered life through it. Abiding with Jesus by His grace enables us to live righteously. We will want to obey his commands because we love Him. Perfection won’t happen until Heaven, but our desires will be to follow Jesus.
Romans 6:13-15King James Version (KJV)
“13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.“
Romans 7:5-7King James Version (KJV)
“5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
What separates legalism from grace is our position. Where do we operate from? Do we operate in the Spirit or in the flesh? Are we in Christ or not?
Romans 8:2-4King James Version (KJV)
“2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
The Spirit is not some mystical force or a drug that gets you high. The Spirit is a PERSON. The Spirit is God. We walk in the Spirit by spending time with Jesus. So we see that Grace and living in the Spirit all comes back to relationship. The law means nothing without relationship. Its job is to point us to relationship with Christ.
Galatians 5:17-18 KJV
“17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”
Hebrews 7:19 KJV
“19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.”
Hebrews 10:1 Amplified
“For since the Law has merely a rude outline (foreshadowing) of the good things to come—instead of fully expressing those things—it can never by offering the same sacrifices continually year after year make perfect those who approach [its altars].”
What is a better hope? What are the good things to come? Jesus answers them both. He fulfills the law. I enjoy the Biblical feasts (like Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles), but I know that celebrating them will not help me earn God’s favor. The purpose of the feasts are to point us to Jesus. I enjoy the celebrations when I use them as a way to think of Christ and fellowship with Him. There was a time in my life that I saw the feasts in a legalistic way. It’s funny because I completely lost my joy during that time and began to dislike the feasts. They became burdensome to me. Have you ever done this with God’s commands or spiritual disciplines?
Let’s get in the New Testament shall we. Maybe your devotion time or how often you pray has become a burden because you believe these things will make God like you more? Maybe you feel that when you sin or skip church etc… that God all of a sudden dislikes you? Dear one, I’ve been there. Legalism can come into any denomination and it can invade any area of your life. I have seen legalism take over my parenting. I have seen it take over my self esteem…whether as puffed up pride or insecurity (which is just pride in another form). Legalism takes our eyes off of Christ and puts it on ourselves.
Basically this is what Satan did when he tried to overthrow God. He kept saying “I will” “I will”. Satan put his focus on himself and his power. He said in his heart that he did not need God. Then he fell and came to Earth where he convinced humanity that we do not need God. But it’s a lie. We were made by and for God. We are diseased without Him. We are cursed without God. The only cure IS God. Jesus Christ came to be your cure. He is God the Son, a part of the God-head (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 3 in one, the Trinity). Dear Christian, you were not saved so you could do it all yourself.
We must give every bit of our lives to Christ. We must have relationship with Jesus and operate out of that relationship. We must walk in the Spirit. It’s simple. Be with Jesus. Spend time with Him. Talk to Him. Get to know Him. I pray we won’t miss this simple yet profound truth. I’m there with you. Please pray for me as I pray for you. God wants to be known. He loves us.
God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
This is only part 1. Go to the website for all parts.
“Not many [of you] should become teachers ([a]self-constituted censors and reprovers of others), my brethren, for you know that we [teachers] will be judged by a higher standard and with greater severity [than other people; thus we assume the greater accountability and the more condemnation].”
James 3:1 Amp Version
“God still speaks through rocks and donkeys.” ~Paul Washer (Amen bro!)
I like to watch preaching but I’ve learned the hard way not to idolize preachers…just as I learned not to idolize “experts” in any field. Humans make mistakes. I may go to a doctor to consult about my health but that doesn’t mean that I should trust a doctor blindly. Preachers and pastors have a great calling to guide God’s people, but they are still human, and every follower of Christ has the same Holy Spirit. We all have access to God’s Word. And ultimately when we stand before God in Heaven we will take account for ourselves. “But the preacher said this…” won’t cut it. Do you know Jesus personally? That’s what matters. You won’t get to Heaven riding on someone’s coat tails.
I say this as a fellow student and a fellow traveler in life. We should test the spirits. We should search the scriptures for ourselves.
Paul speaks of the Bereans
“11 Now these [Jews] were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message [[a]concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11 AMP
Now to bring balance, sometimes we won’t like a sermon because it doesn’t tickle our ears and our flesh hates it. We feel conviction and maybe we are fighting it. How do we know the difference? Well, what are we using as our standard? God’s Word in context? or our emotions and experiences? In the end it does not matter what we have experienced, what we feel, or what our culture says….all that matters is what God says. God’s truth will often bring conviction. It will bring the fruit of the Spirit. But if a sermon brings condemnation, pride, fear, or other ungodly attitudes then it is not of the Spirit.
Sometimes preachers give messages in the flesh. Again, they are human. I saw this in my Dad. He was a former drug dealer that turned preacher. I could tell when my Dad was preaching from pride and his flesh. I could also tell when my Dad was humble and it was God’s Spirit speaking through Him. I struggled to listen to his sermons done in pride. But when he spoke with humility, my heart opened.
Things to question when you hear a message
Does the Bible (in context) support this?
Does the speaker display Christ-like behavior?
Does it edify the body of Christ?
Does it make sense?
I pray that you will be strong in these last days. These are deceptive times. I try to teach Michael to read the Bible himself and not idolize me or his dad. I tell him that we are human and we will fail him at times, but Jesus is the perfect friend. The Heavenly Father is the perfect parent. God’s Word is perfect guidance (read in context). I hope to share helpful info on how to read the Bible, soon. I’m working on it.
I pray that you, dear one, won’t idolize me or any other blogger. We may look put together on the outside but I assure you that every one of us are just as human as you. We struggle with sin just as much. We are desperately hanging on to Jesus to help us through this mess of a world. The thought of someone putting me on a pedestal scares me. I don’t want that.
Anywho, so when you meet teachers, preachers, pastors, and any leaders in the church…remember they are human. They need friends. They need accountability. They need guidance. They need love. They bleed. They cry. They need prayer. Even the ones that are really off theologically. Even the corrupt ones. God’s grace is available to all. Any one can be changed by God if they repent. Don’t idolize them. Please pray for them. They’ve taken on a scary task.
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
Hello dear ones! I’m finally catching up on posts. It turns out that taking care of a newborn is hard work ;). It’s been a lil over three weeks and I think I’m finally getting into a decent routine. So Leeland was born April 2nd on Maundy Thursday. We got home from the hospital that Saturday and the next day was Easter Sunday. It was a looong day Saturday. We were busy adjusting to having a newborn at home. It was super late when Michael and I dyed eggs.
I saw a neat idea on Pinterest and gave it a try. I painted a few rocks with chalkboard paint. Then Michael wrote his sins/struggles on the rocks and put them in his Easter basket. I exchanged the rocks for goodies on Easter. I shared with Michael about God’s grace in taking our sins.
So after Michael went to bed I set out the boys’ Easter baskets. Leeland was too young to care of course, but I did get him some stuffed bunnies.
Here’s an Easter picture that Michael drew for his nana.
Leeland developed a love hate relationship for the Easter bunny, early on ;).
Chris and Michael went to church. The baby and I stayed home but we did get dressed up. My parents met up with us after church and came over for supper. My mom developed a cold right after Leeland was born, so she couldn’t hold him :(. We had a lovely dinner of KFC. Leeland took a long nap in his swing.He was so easy.
Then we went outside for a photo shoot. I put a blanket in a basket with plastic eggs and used that for Leeland’s pictures. Here he is choking the Easter Bunny. Caption should read “Come here bunny! We gotta talk!”
Then there’s the punch to the face. Poor bunny. Okay…my humor is a bit sadistic. I can’t help myself.
Here’s a beautiful picture of my two babies. Nine years apart. It’s wild!
Easter pic with my parents.
My stepdad holding the baby.
My parents. I love the wysteria growing in our back yard.
Tessa all dressed up.
Look! We found a baby!
My lovely family: Chris, Michael, and Leeland. What blessings! Praise Jesus for His goodness!
Then it was time for the Easter egg hunt, which I missed because I was feeding the baby. Chris got a few pictures though.
Well, I hope you enjoyed these pics. I hope to catch up even more soon. You’ve been on my mind I’ve just been super busy in baby world.
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
In this post: Our Ash Wednesday craft, a sneaky squirrel, and an inside look at piano tuning.
Hello dear ones! Up above is the one craft we did for Ash Wednesday. We saved up used matches the weeks leading to Lent. Michael pasted the matches into the shape of a cross. Then he took a white crayon and wrote the verse Genesis 3:19. We also watched a video on the history of Ash Wednesday. The other picture is our chalkboard door. I’m really enjoying it.
We have a very sneaky squirrel that dumps the bird seed out of our bird feeder. He also lives in Chris’ shed and messes up things. Michael says he’s fat enough to eat. Yep, that’s the inner redneck. He didn’t get it from me lol. Anywho, we like to watch the birds and the squirrel as we go through our homeschool day.
Apparently the cat does too…
Lastly, Michael had the neat opportunity to watch the piano tuner in action. My beloved piano of 17 years had never been tuned. Finally, we were able to call someone in. The nice man didn’t mind me taking a picture of the piano’s inner workings. He also let Michael sit and watch him tune.
Well, that’s all. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
Hello dear ones! How are you? This poem I wrote today is based on an actual dream I had many years ago. It was more of a nightmare and last night during prayer the dream came to my mind and I now understand what I was dealing with. Hence, the inspiration for this poem. Please don’t copy but you can share this link. Thanks! God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
I made You promises a thousand times
I tried to hear from Heaven
But I talked the whole time
I think I made You too small
I never feared You at all No
If You touched my face would I know You?
Looked into my eyes could I behold You?[CHORUS]
So What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
So What do I know? What do I know of Holy?
I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were mighty to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees
[CHORUS]
So What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
So What do I know? What do I know of Holy?
[CHORUS 2]
What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?
And a God who gave life it’s name?
What do I know of Holy?
Of the One who the angels praise?
All creation knows Your name
On earth and heaven above
What do I know of this love?
[CHORUS]
So What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of Holy?
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
In this post: A weekend combo of Virtual Friday, Media Saturday, & My Family Rocks! Sunday. Come visit virtual oceans with me as a mermaid in Second Life. I’ll review the new movie Man of Steel. Also, Lisa Whelchel’s book “Creative Correction” and how it’s helping us.
Hello dear ones! I hope you are well. I know my posts have been few lately. I ask for your prayers. Many of you know that I found out I don’t have Ehlers Danlos (what my Daddy had). I have found out that something I do have, Endometriosis, can actually cause a lot of the symptoms I’m experiencing. The more it grows the worse I feel and mine can’t be lasered out because of where it is.
I don’t like or trust most main stream meds. So I’ve started taking a natural progesterone cream that’s supposed to help shrink things. I can tell it’s doing something because of my fake pregnancy symptoms. It’s worth it to shrink the endo. though. I’m just even more fatigued than usual. I’m just having a hard time putting one foot in front of the other. So please keep me in your prayers and also about the inflammation in my joints (mainly my fingers). That’s been particularly bothersome lately and I hate feeling limited & weak (a pride thing I guess).
Now moving on, below is a pic of my yard in Second Life. My avatar got a new hairdo and clothes. But we will get back to Second Life later. First, I want to share this awesome devotional I’m doing.
Some of you may remember Lisa Whelchel from “The Facts of Life”. Anywho, she’s now a homeschool mom and housewife. She wrote this great devotional called “Creative Correction”. I’ve been writing a lot about parenting lately. Michael is in a new stage which I’ve found seems to happen at age seven. So it’s not unusual that we are having new challenges with him and because of that our parenting methods have to change with the stage. I am all about heart based parenting. I don’t want my kiddo to look good on the outside but be a mess inside. I want to help him develop character by pointing him to Christ. That’s harder than it seems because I have my own failings and often I feel I am exhibit A of how not to act. I’m often asking for Michael’s forgiveness. If Michael sees anything in my life of value I guess it’ll be that God is merciful to me and that I do have a repentant heart. I am trying.
So I’m on this journey to learn how the Heavenly Father parents and how that translates to human parenting cause obviously I’m not God and I’m not allowed to make some of the parenting choices he makes. The whole “I brought you into this world so I can take you out” thing only applies to God lol. And I’m very thankful that stoning is not permitted under the new covenant. Though the New Covenant story of Ananias and Sapphira brings chills to me.
“Creative Correction” is a great resource for this adventure I’m on. Lisa points to God’s word and helps us see how the Heavenly Father parents. She also gives several tools parents can use ranging from scripture to activities and parables. The pictures below show an object lesson from the book.
You need several big stones (or in our case pecans), rice, and a jar.
First, Michael filled the jar with rice and tried to fit the pecans on top. He wasn’t able to fit all of the pecans.
Then he filled the jar with pecans first and they all fit. He was able to pour most of the rice. The lesson is that when we put the big things first (like spending time with Jesus, school work, and chores), we are able to fit the little things in too (like video games and t.v. etc). But if we put all our time into the little things that don’t matter much we usually don’t have time to finish the important things. Also it’s a message to put God first and how he helps us order our day. This can also be an object lesson for money and spending.
These object lessons and parables are so much easier than harping on issues over and over again. When Michael is being negative I just say “look for the pony, son“. That comes from the story of the optimist and his brother the pessimist. The pessimist gets toys for his birthday and sits around and complains about having to read instructions and get batteries. The optimist gets horse poo and dances around because he knows with all that poo a pony has to be around somewhere.
Lisa lists several scriptures that I haven’t thought to use before. I can vouch that scripture really works. Slowly but surely I’m seeing how the repentance corner is affecting Michael. He used to say “I can’t change” all the time. Now he’s been saying “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13 KJV). It is a slow process but focusing on the inward man takes time. It’s all about looking at the big picture…not just wanting outward obedience in the moment. I am learning a lot about how God parents me as well. I find I have some of the same struggles that Michael does but on a deeper level.
The fellas and I saw “Man of Steel” for Father’s Day. My first impression is “amazing! Stinkin’ awesome!” But the adrenaline rush is gone and now I can give a somewhat decent review.
Positives:Super Man has great character. He makes a hard choice in the end that has some long time fans disappointed but I feel he had no choice. I won’t spoil it for you. Clark Kent’s adoptive parents are very loving and his Dad makes a great sacrifice for his son. There’s also this wonderful message about how to deal with bullying and being a bigger man. There is nothing sexual in the movie unless you count a guy making inappropriate remarks to a waitress (which Super Man defends the lady). Super Man isn’t perfect and has weaknesses so he is not godlike (something that I worried about). Lois Lane and Clark Kent both make hard decisions and side with their morals over their fears and pressure from others. So when it comes down to it, Super Man puts all the other super heroes to shame when it comes to integrity and goodness. I would much rather my son emulate Super Man than Iron Man or Spider Man.
On that note, if you’re one of my readers then you know I believe media can be used as a teaching tool. I believe parents should talk to their kids about what they watch and listen to. We can shape the messages they receive subconsciously from media. So though I think Super Man is a better hero I want my son to ultimately try to be Christ-like. So we did have a talk about how Jesus is real and He is like the biggest super hero because He is God and He is perfect. Michael and I talked about the differences between Super Man and Jesus.
Negatives:The action scenes are super intense and in my opinion too intense for most kids (especially littles). My son is probably too used to action scenes (from Avengers and Lord of the Rings etc). So it didn’t bother him at all. When he was younger we used to watch the old Star Trek series as a family. Man of Steel was one big adrenaline rush and from the previews/commercials to the action scenes it was all about testosterone. LOL It’s definitely a man’s movie though obviously women can enjoy it as well. The villain is very dark and doesn’t care if he wipes out the human race. So there is violence and lots of it. Also there are probably a couple of curse words sprinkled here and there. I honestly can’t remember any of them but you can check out pluggedin.com and read a detailed review.
In conclusion, Man of Steel is a great movie but I’d keep the littles home until they are mature enough to handle the intensity and the thematic elements (like genocide). Upper elementary and middle schoolers should be fine and I’d recommend this movie above the other action movies this Summer.
Mermaid exploration in the virtual ocean of Second Life
So I decided to become a mermaid and show you some great underwater worlds in Second Life. It was extremely difficult to find a modest mermaid outfit. The one I’m (my avatar lol) wearing actually doesn’t have a tail. It just has pants so I used a different tail. The sand skirt and the scaly top is very modest. So the combo works for a modest mermaid. Now I can’t guarantee that these sims will always be family friendly and that everyone will dress modest. Heck…even The Little Mermaid isn’t modest. But for the most part I ran into few merpeople and the ocean bed was pretty secluded.
Here’s my hat with little baby mermaids and sea shells. I’ve got a scaly tattoo on my face. Most little girls like to pretend to be mermaids in the pool and this grown up little girl is no different ;).
You can see the great seahorse necklace if you click on the pic below.
Now this is a great place to swim but you will probably run into more merpeople here. That can be a good thing if you’re looking to reach out to others but if you’re trying to avoid seeing immodest dress and role play that involves Greek/Roman mythology then it’s best to proceed with caution. There is a calendar with a list of events so you can choose the best time to explore.
The Safe Water Foundation supports merpeople and underwater life in Second Life. I’m not sure what they are safe from though….virtual pirates? The Phantasien area has a neat underwater play area. There’s lots to explore here.
Like ruins and shipwrecks…
Here’s a nifty castle that someone lives in. You have to message them to get a tour. It has an octopus garden by it.
The colors and the realistic sea life are just breath taking.
Bernie’s Hideaway is a cute underwater club. You can sit at the table and talk with merfriends…or in my case, fish.
You can dance in the big blue. The dances are made especially for mermaids and were very fun. You may wonder how virtual dancing can be fun…well it’s never been hard for me to put myself in a character’s place….whether I’m reading a book, watching a movie, acting in a play, playing video games, or exploring virtual worlds. You should ask my Hubby how seriously I take Nancy Drew games. I MUST solve the mystery! Role players won’t find it hard to pretend.
I love this pic. I just want to start singing Disney’s The Little Mermaid. “Up where they walk…up where they run…” Yes Mom, I still pretend to be Ariel.
Part of your world!!!!!!!!!!
Anywho, I’m done ;P. So I hope to have more underwater worlds to show you next time and I’ve found more educational places to visit. I only get on Second Life a couple of times a month. I hope no one’s shocked. I don’t spend all my time in the virtual world. I have school to teach and a house to clean… a bunch of crazy animals to take care of (I mean the cat and such…not Chris and Michael he he he 😛 jk honey….testing to see if you actually read my blog lol.)
So maybe I’ll get the time to do massive exploration one day.
I hope the reviews etc have helped or entertained. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover
PS: I love getting sweet comments. It means so much to me. If you have resources that you want to share or just want to say hi and chat…please drop me a comment. 🙂
Welcome! My name is Amber Dover. I am a homeschooling mom, happy wife, and a devout follower of Jesus Christ. I am also a writer. I am currently working on "The Truth Seeker's Chronicles" (an inspirational fantasy/allegory). You will find everything from craft ideas to writing tips on my blog. So please pull up a chair and hang out :)
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