March 15: Contentment and Your Marriage Spouse

CONTENTMENT SCRIPTURES

Titus 2:4-5 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,  to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. 

Eph. 5:33 Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. 

1Pet. 5:8-9 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 

A contented wife receives her mate as a gift from God in spite of his:

...Differences

• gender
• perspectives
• temperament
• background
• roles
• preferences

...and Character Qualities

• disciplined vs. impulsive
• stubborn vs. flexible
• task-oriented vs. people-oriented
• pessimistic vs. optimistic
• decisive vs. indecisive
• spendthrift vs. miser
• affectionate vs. reserved
• idealistic vs. realistic...

[excerpted from Contentment: A Matter of the Heart by Karen Horsey / Karen's Kreations]

Notice that the list does not include kindness vs. abuse (physical or emotional), faithfulness vs. infidelity, or addictions or other forms of sin.  These can be causes for separation and sometimes, for divorce  but can also be forgiven over time so don't necessarily give up on a marriage due to these.  

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How on earth is it possible to find contentment with someone so different and to live with them for your lifetime?  Frankly, it's not earthly possible, but it is heavenly possible.  Marriage is a covenant commitment before God and usually, before many witnesses.  Bottom line which solves most marital issues:   The husband is to love his wife as he loves himself; the wife is to respect her husband.  Neither of these comes naturally to any of us.    

A few evaluation checkpoints:

• Does what you read or watch in the media encourage long-term marriage or are you bombarded with images that  lead  you to  desire someone else or stimulate lust for another?  
• Does your work environment promote a lifetime commitment or are there office affairs (emotional and/or physical)  going on all around you?  
• Are your MySpace or Facebook relationships with the opposite sex a little too friendly or are they purely platonic?  
• Do other couples and friends that you spend time with help your marriage blossom? or is wife/husband "bashing" a regular topic of conversation?
• Are you and your spouse a bit  too independent of each other as our culture promotes or do you make an effort to be united together?

Although this verse  refers to the wife, a husband can be just as responsible for tearing down the home.  Our differences make us interesting and are sometimes the reason we found our spouse so appealing in the first place. Just look at your assortment of friends and the variety of their characters.   It helps for Christians to remember that they are a picture to the world of Christ and His Church.  Our unity in Christ definitely holds our marriage together, sometimes when there is nothing else that does.   My husband and I could be  pretty much described by   the list above (with each of us on one "side" or the other), but we are united in the raising of our children and in our long-term goala, ideals and our ministries.   The list of adjectives can be positives if looked at from another angle, so don't take things that annoy you  at face value.   


Our marriage of 22+ years has weathered for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health, so I can speak from experience on these.  If you are on the edge of separation or even considering other relationships apart from your spouse, take a long hard look at the root causes and step back to see what good qualities exist  in your spouse [I did not say "significant other".]   People change and grow as they get older.  Give him/her some slack.  Put some cherishing and admiration back into your marriage.  It's worth the effort for yourself, your children, and those around you.

March 14: Contentment / Sunday Rest

CONTENTMENT SCRIPTURES

Matt. 11:28-30“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” 

Contentment is...

...a soul sufficiency, a peace separate from our circumstances...accepting God's sovereign control over life's circumstances.  (Linda Dillow)

,,,essentially a matter of accepting from God's hands what He sends because we know that He is good and therefore it is good.  (J. I. Packer)

[excerpted from Contentment: A Matter of the Heart by Karen Horsey / Karen's Kreations]

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Not much to add to this... enjoy a day of rest, for your soul and your physical health.  You'll probably need it since we begin Daylight Savings Time today.  It usually takes me a few weeks to adjust to the change.

March 13: Contentment and Homecooking / Lasagne Recipe

CONTENTMENT SCRIPTURES

Psa. 31:15 My times are in Your hand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. 

Prov. 16:20 He who gives attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. 

Psa. 34:8-9 O taste and see that the LORD is good;

How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! 

O fear the LORD, you His saints;

For to those who fear Him there is no want. 

2Chr. 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His..."

A Prayer of Contentment

Blessed Creator, may I hold life loosely in my hand, knowing that I receive it on  condition of its surrender...Make me a happy, holy person.  Teach me to laud, adore and magnify Thee with the music of heaven, and make me a perfume of gratitude to Thee.  (A  Puritan Prayer)

[excerpted from Contentment: A Matter of the Heart by Karen Horsey / Karen's Kreations]

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I  enjoy going out for meals occasionally but in my constant quest to be frugal I have found that I actually enjoy (did I say that?) making meals at home most of the time.  There are busy days of course, when I certainly don't object to my husband picking up dinner or buying something at Sam's Club from the deli already cooked.  Here is a simple recipe for Lasagne that is delicious, economical and very easy to prepare.   Forget the Stouffer's frozen lasagne.  For less than the price of one large frozen meal they make, you can fill TWO 9" x 13"  casserole dishes from this recipe and it is much healthier.  I made it Thursday night.  It took exactly 35 minutes  to prepare from the time I decided to make it until the casserole dishes were in the oven.  There is plenty to serve a large family or company plus some for the freezer for another time.

MY RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE LASAGNA

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box of lasagne noodles (16 oz. / 1 lb.)
• 1 1/2  lb. ground beef (I use 90% lean)
• Seasonings--oregano, garlic, basil
• 1 large jar + 1 small jar of spaghetti sauce (I used sauce left over from a meal earlier in the week)
• 1  3-lb. container of Ricotta cheese (best price is at Sam's Club)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (optional, for a cheesier dish)
• Note: Use every bit of all ingredients except the seasonings.

DIRECTIONS
Cook the ground beef in a large skillet, drain.

Boil lasagne noodles for about 3 minutes, to soften.

After the meat is drained, add the spaghetti sauce to the skillet.

Grease two 9" x 13" casserole dishes with Pam or butter.

Begin layering the ingredients in the casserole dishes.  First the meat sauce...then the noodles.  By not overcooking the noodles, they can be removed from the pot of water more easily without breaking or sticking.

...then large dollops of ricotta cheese.  You can add mozzarella as well or any other white cheese. The more cheese, the better, in my book.  :)

Top the cheese with the seasonings.

Layer one more time--sauce, noodles, ricotta, spices, then noodles-- in the same order with noodles being the last item. Finish up with the sauce on top of  the noodles. Make sure the noodles are completely covered with the sauce or they will be too crunchy and very hard to chew.  Use a spoon or spatula to press everything down just a bit so it doesn't come over the top of the dishes while baking.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. I love using my oven timer!  I prepared everything and put both casserole dishes in the oven around 4:00 p.m. before my piano student arrived.  I set the oven to come on at 5:00 p.m. so that dinner would be ready at 6:00 p.m.   I served the lasagne with fresh green salad,  and wine.  Broccoli and garlic bread are also good accompaniments for this meal.

You can also prepare everything and put it in the refrigerator to cook the next day as well.  Some lasagne recipes tell you  not  to cook the noodles and that just covering the casserole dishes with foil will save time and cook them.  We have found the noodles to be far too hard to chew when prepared  this way so I always boil the noodles at least just a little.


Enjoy this easy meal and the leftovers,  too!


Also, remember to set your clocks ahead one hour tonight.  Daylight Savings Time begins tonight.  

March 12: Contentment with Your Hair Color Going Gray

CONTENTMENT SCRIPTURES

Psa. 119:11 Your word I have treasured in my heart,

That I may not sin against You. 

Psa. 19:7-8  The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 

The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 

Matt. 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” 

Col. 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 

MIRROR FOR OUR SOULS

Learn to check the appearance of your soul every day just as willingly as you check your physical apperance...The Bible is the mirror for checking up on your soul. (Henry Brandt)

[excerpted from Contentment: A Matter of the Heart by Karen Horsey / Karen's Kreations]

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Mom's Bragging Corner:  My older son is a graphic design major in college and just developed a new website.   Check it out!  

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GOING GRAY:  There is actually a book about this that I found and read from the library.  Interesting reading.  

It has always struck me curious why so many women--both young and old--color their hair, especially the strange  neon colors that are popular these days.  I've asked different women this question and have gotten a variety of answers:

1.   To hide the gray
2.   To change the color to a prettier color
3.   To look younger
4.   To look more mature
5.   To look hip and fashionable
6.   To look like ____________

There are probably other reasons but these are the most common.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for enhancing one's appearance by wearing complimentary clothing, wearing natural looking makeup, having a stylish haircut, gaining or losing weight, painting fingernails/toenails...There's something though, about coloring hair that just doesn't set right with me and I have never wanted to do it.  So far, at age 54, I have not.  For the record, I do have a small amount of gray scattered throughout my hair but from a distance, it still looks fairly dark (see profile photo).  


Once you start coloring your hair, you can't stop unless you want to shock the daylights out of people.   A couple of my friends did that --went from dark brown to totally gray in about a month.  At first it was a shock, but now it looks completely natural and normal for them.  It can get pretty expensive, too--from $10 if you do it yourself, upwards to $50-75 for a professional coloring in a salon.  For my opinion on it, we're all going to age no matter what we do, so we may as well age gracefully and let others get used to how we look in our aging as the process continues.  

I wouldn't want people to think that I'm 30-something any more than I would want them to think I'm 60-something.  With age comes a maturity and a blossoming that is so attractive both to men and other women.  It sure makes it easier to pick out in a crowd who might be in your age bracket, for common interests, good conversation, life experiences, etc.   When I see women my age with obviously dyed hair (not highlights), I want to just hug them and say You looked great just the way you were...There's no need to hide your age.   When I see younger women with the rock star colors, I would  love to ask, why do you need to call attention to yourself?   Or who are you trying to imitate?  You are lovely just the way you are.

If you color your hair for whatever reason, think about the motive for doing so. If it's one of the "hiding" reasons, try to evaluate what it is you are hiding from and come out into the open where we can really see you.  If it is to be like someone else, think about those role models and ponder if you really want to be like them.  If you are coloring your hair  just for fun and the love of color... then go for it.  :)


For Christians,

Prov. 16:31 A gray head is a crown of glory; it is found in the way of righteousness. 

March 11: Contentment with Your Weight Gain and Loss

CONTENTMENT SCRIPTURES

2Th. 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 

1Cor. 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 

Jude 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 

THE EVE OF DISCONTENT

Eve was approached by Satan in the Garden of Eden.  He questioned her contentment.  How could she be happy when she was not allowed to eat from one of the fruit trees?  Satan helped Eve shift her focus from all that God had done and given to the one thing He had withheld.  And Eve was willing to accept Satan's viewpoint without checking with God.

[excerpted from Contentment: A Matter of the Heart by Karen Horsey / Karen's Kreations]

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Women (and many men) will never be content with what the scale shows that they weigh.  I own a scale but I keep it under a bookcase in our kitchen.  My husband is the only one in the family who uses it and I'd swear that his mood changes every time he gets on it.    

I do weigh myself once every week or so at the YMCA --which has a doctor's office type scale-- just to see if I'm on track.  My main concern at this stage of life (mid-50's) is to be heart-healthy and to fit into my clothes without them being snug.  Still working on the middle section, but I am  .7 from the the good weight range according to the BMI chart.   I'm content with that although I do want to keep working on my stamina and keep my bones and muscles strong.  When my husband and I lost weight last year I got out our hand weights and had us each hold the amount we had lost.  What a shock!  And to think we were carrying that extra poundage around every day.  The visual aid stimulus really helps.

If you are overweight or obese try to think ahead to the consequences physically, financially and emotionally for not maintaining a healthy weight.  I'm not talking about looking like the skinny models or the hunks (for men) that you see on TV, in the movies or in magazines.  An average-size person can exercise moderately and is not winded playing with the kids or walking around the neighborhood.  The contentment level comes from what you learn is really best for your body, your family and your long-term plans.  Too much extra weight eventually adds financial burden to the family--heart problems, hospitalization, special clothes and/or shoes, increased medical insurance, grocery bill increases, etc.  Emotionally it can be stressful because we all know we compare our weight to those around us and that our children and family can be embarrassed by how much we tip the scale. We've all seen parents who can't play with their children due to their extra weight or who need two seats at the movie theater.   Self-esteem is often affected by drastic weight gain.  Even women who are pregnant get a little phobic about how much they are gaining when they are SUPPOSED to be gaining weight.  

Keep a level head about you and determine, usually with your doctor, what is a good range to be rather than one specific weight. The ranges are pretty generous and reward yourself with something special (a movie, dinner out, drive to the beach, new piece of clothing) when you accomplish each small weight goal to keep you motivated. Enlisting close friends to encourage you is a great step. I have a friend who has lost  50 pounds over the last several months and keeps us all up to date on Facebook.  Each time he posts, several people including myself, write something to encourage him on the journey. We all want to see him live long with good health and enjoy his young children and lovely wife.

Realize that to keep extra weight off, losing a little bit each week (maybe a pound or two) is better than crash diets and reducing too quickly.  Healthy habits take awhile to develop.  Balance it out. If you splurge on one meal, cut back on the  next one.  20 minutes of exercise 5x a week is ample to help your metabolism and to build up muscle mass. Increase the time as you can.  I walk for 20 minutes 3x a week and over the last month walk 2x for an hour with a friend. Our chatting together makes the time go quickly.  The older you are, the slower the weight comes off which is as it should be. 

For those who have it easy taking weight off, be compassionate and helpful to those who do not.  There are excesses in both directions and be aware if you are obsessive about your weight if you are in a good weight range and what your motives are for exercising and eating what you eat.  I just saw a clip from the movie  The Devil Wears Prada last night where none of the skinny model types would eat carbs. One even said when she got really hungry she would eat a piece of lettuce.  Although a cute movie, that is not the type of advice anyone should follow.

For Christians, remember: 

Romans 12:1  Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.