Top Ten Tuesday--Worthy Organizations

Want to change the world but don't know where to begin? Here are a few places to get your heart praying and your mind thinking.

1. World Vision Sponsor or give to children from around the globe.
2. Invisible Children Help keep children from becoming soldiers.
3. Show Hope Adopt an orphan!
4. Samaritan's Purse Give to children and families throughout the world.
5. Compassion International Sponsor more children from around the globe!
6. Blood Water Mission Give clean water to people who don't have any.
7. Acts 29 Network Help plant churches in the US and abroad.
8. Desiring God International Help translate DG resources into all different languages.
9. Not For Sale Campaign Help end human trafficking.
10. ReachLife Help take the gospel to the ghetto. 

What organization would you add to the list?

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house, when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"
(Isaiah 58:6-7)

This post is linked up to Top Ten Tuesday at OhAmanda!

Top Ten Tuesday--What I'm Missing While Watching TV

My hubby and I didn't watch much TV, that is, until this past month. We watched all the seasons of Lost and have nothing eternally (or even temporally) significant to show for it. Plus, we missed a lot of our lives during this time.

What I'm Missing While Watching TV

10. Reading

Very little has been read in this house lately. No novels, fiction, biographies, news...

9. Adequate rest

We go to bed late. We watch TV too late. It messes up our sleep rhythms. Then, we wake up late and feel rushed all day. 

8. Family Worship

We've never been consistent with family worship, but I love when we talk about the Word and how It's affecting our lives. It makes me happy to "make a joyful noise" with my hubby. (My voice emphasizes "joyful noise," but he plays the guitar and sings beautifully.)

7. Family time

If we spend time watching TV while Caleb's asleep, then we have to get stuff done while he's awake. (TV is off-limits to him.) Our selfishness takes away from time that could be spent with the Little Man, Chewy and Sophie. 

6. Housework

Again, if we spend time watching TV, then the house begins to slowly unravel. As manager of this home, the responsibility falls on me to keep it ordered. I've been less than diligent in this area. 

5. Conversations

My hubby doesn't like to talk during movies; it's the same with TV shows. I can't pay attention to anything but a colorful screen when one's on, so there's no use trying to hold a conversation with me, anyway.

4. Date Night

The few we've had lately have been in the living room in front of...you guessed it!

3. Sex

Well...we get to bed too late and are both exhausted.

2. Time in the Word and prayer

If my relationship with my hubby begins to wan, this relationship is also affected. I miss Him, but I'm ashamed of my wasted time. (Thank you, Small Group ladies for your encouragement in this area!)

1. Three ENTIRE days of our lives

Yep. My hubby did the math. By watching every season of this show, we literally wasted three-24 hour days of our lives. Can't ever get those back.

From this we've concluded that we won't be watching much TV in the future. Please don't tell us about a new show we should watch; we'll kindly decline. We are choosing other ways to spend our lives. 

"A mind fed daily on TV diminishes. Your mind was made to know and love God. Its facility for this great calling is ruined by excessive TV. The content is so trivial and so shallow that the capacity of the mind to think worthy thoughts withers, and the capacity of the heart to feel deep emotions shrivels." ~Pastor John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life

This post is linked up to Top Ten Tuesday at OhAmanda.

Top Ten Tuesday

Today's Top Ten is borrowed with love from MSN via Mary Kassain.

Please visit the following link for the list. Read, enjoy and vote!

Top Ten Fights in Marriage

Two of our top three landed at the top of this list.

Side-note: I dislike the word "fight." The Hubby and I have had three major fights during our marriage. We have had some seriously intense disagreements, though.

This post is linked up to Top Ten Tuesday at OhAmanda.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Things that Make Me Smile

1. Caleb

Man, that's one cute kid! Yes. I'm his mom, so I'm biased. Seriously, though. That's one cute kid! Plus, he's super funny and sweet spirited. He's a wonderful little man.









2. My hubby

This is one good lookin', godly man. He makes me smile for lots of reasons, but mostly because he knows me so well. If he stopped at any restaurant we like, he could order for me. If he saw a top at the mall, he'd know whether I'd like it or not. Books, music, movies, he knows it all!




3. God's faithfulness
I blogged about how God's provided for us financially since the Hubby was laid off in February. Many things could be added to this post. It's amazing to know you're loved and cared for by the God of the universe. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31 ESV)

4. My parents
They're just a bunch of funny people. Yes. I have a bunch of parents. Both of my original parents are divorced and remarried, and so are my hubby's. That makes a large bunch of amazing and quite wonderful people. 


5. Wendy's Frosties

Only the chocolate ones, though. I'm sure they aren't the healthiest of treats in the world, but they sure are yummy. My hubby only allots me a Jr. Chocolate Frosty once in a blue moon, but I get real excited when I see a blue moon. (I think today should be a blue moon day.)








6. Superhero Movies

I get really, really excited to watch trailers for superhero movies. Sometimes I think I'm convinced it's all real and that when the movie's over I can kick all the bad guys' butts and still look great in spandex. My personal fave, at least for now: Iron Man. I think that's only because I haven't seen Thor yet. (P.S. My hubby dressed as Tony Stark last year for Halloween. He was hot!)

7.  Anything Jane Austen

Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy

Yep, if I'm not reading her, I'm watching some remake of her novels. She's just that awesome. Trust me.

8. Hijacking friends' iPhones

I'm notorious for this. If you have an iPhone, and you're my friend, you have three options. 1. Trust me with your phone and know that I wear a halo and a sparkly smile. 2. Password protect it. 3. Don't leave your phone unattended. (Don't fret. I'm not clever enough to do any damage. I can only text people inappropriate messages and change your FB status.)

9. Chewy and Sophie

They are by far the sweetest and smartest dogs I know, and they're stinkin' cute. I love them so much. It's going to be a rough time when one of them "kicks the crate". 

Sophie (front) & Chewy

10. Early, early morning time alone

Planning for this means going to bed early, so it doesn't happen often. However, it is a sweet time. It's still dark out. No one's up but Sophie and me. Make some coffee. Grab my bag o' goodies and my snuggie. (Don't judge me.) Curl up on the sofa with my Bible, iPod or hymnal, my journal, and Sophie. It's such an amazing thing to think the God of the universe meets with me at these times in His Word and in prayer. You'd think I'd go to bed earlier more often.

These are the things I think of when I want to smile. What comes to your mind?

This post is linked up to Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda!

Top Ten Tuesday

I recently discovered Amanda and her fancy schmancy blog. I'm linking up to her Top Ten Tuesdays, and today's list for me is:

Top Ten Things that Terrify Me

1. Arachnids. 

I blame this fear on watching Arachnophobia when I was little. What dad thinks that's a good movie to show his daughter?! Yes, anything with 8 or more legs gives me nightmares and throws me into a nice little panic attack. (I guess this category should included centipedes and millipedes, but I don't know the fancy name for them.) 

2. Tornadoes 

I blame this fear on watching Terrible Tuesday in second grade. That movie was horrifying. I've had nightmares of tornadoes ever since, and second grade was a very long time ago. (In my dreams, however, I usually save everyone. That's a plus.)

3. Chainsaws

Again, I blame this on another movie, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. (Notice a pattern? I don't think my parents really thought through the possible effects of media on children.) Just the sound of a chainsaw makes my heart race. Yes, I know. When you go through a haunted house or haunted maze, the costumed-terrors don't have real chains on the the chainsaws. Yes. I know. That doesn't make it any less scary. 

4. Not Dying Well

I'm not afraid of death. Death is wonderful! Death is gain. Heaven. Jesus. God in all His glory forever! However, dying is frightening. I'm afraid of pain, because I'm pitiful and weak, and I'm afraid of not dying well. I don't want to draw up into myself and my suffering and dishonor God. All of us are going to die. I want to die well.

5. Hot Dog Guy or Garden Center Man Dying 

HDG is healthy. GCM is...Well, he's surviving. Neither of them are physically sick. I will have a difficult time with their deaths; however, because neither of them know the Lord. They've both openly rejected salvation repeatedly, and I care about both of them dearly.
I know, theologically, that those who die without salvation are dying a just and reasonable death. However, theology in my head doesn't always sooth the pain in my heart. I know God can still change their hearts. I just want to see it happen. I want to rejoice with them when they see their need for a Savior and humble themselves before the Lord to receive mercy and forgiveness and grace.

6. People, Lots of People

I get really anxious and nervous amidst a crowd of people, even if I know everyone. I like small groups of people, with whom I can hold conversation without the fear of too many eyes looking at me at once. Having Caleb has been helpful. I'm afraid of church and going shopping, but he takes most of the attention away from me. (Silly. I know.) 

7. Embarrassment

One reason I'm so afraid of large groups of people is that there are more people to see me do or say something dumb. I'm not exactly the most graceful person, my mouth makes too many words and I get flustered easily. To my chagrin, all those wonderful characteristics create a muddled soup of terror for me. 

8. Divorce

This one has grounds in my family. I can't think of anyone in my family that is a Christian and happily married to his/her first love. (My bio-mom and her hubby almost count. Same for my hubby's dad and wife. Almost) That could be depressing. 

My hubby and I are not above sin, so it is possible that one of us may walk away from the Lord and the other. I have no reason to fear this, though. We're doing everything to fight for our marriage while it's young and thriving, so that when it's old, it'll still be thriving. It's a slow fade, divorce. It can be avoided, long before the word is spoken.

9. Being Tickled

Don't ask. I just hate, hate, hate being tickled. When I see someone on a movie strung up in a creepy guy's dungeon, I think, Oh! God, I don't think I could handle that. I can't even sleep with my arms above my head, for fear that my hubby may accidentally run his hand past my underarm. Ah! I hate it!

10. Losing My Little Man

Caleb's such a wonderful, great gift, and I love him so much. It would devastate me to lose him. That would be a heart-wrenching desert in my walk with the Lord. How parents go through something like that and still walk in faith and love Jesus, I hope to never know firsthand. 

___________

I'm a pretty fearful person. Thankful that my fears do not dictate reality. They are subject to God and His Word. They are not lord of my life. 

These were in no particular order.

Thanks for reading. For more Top Ten Tuesday entries from other Mommy Bloggers, visit: Oh Amanda!