Connecting with truth (Prayer devotional for the week of Nov. 6)

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When I read about the armor of God in Ephesians 6, I’ve always pictured a knight. Verses 10-17 talk about the various pieces of the uniform: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, foot coverings of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.

The second piece of armor is more than a protective sheet of metal that a knight would wear, however. The Jewish people also would have been familiar with the use of a breastplate by the priests in the temple. Way back in Exodus 28, Aaron (Moses’ brother) was given detailed instructions on what to wear before approaching the Holy Place within the temple, and one of those pieces was a breastplate. Aaron’s breastplate was worn over an apron-type article of clothing called an ephod, and it was held in place with decorative and functional rings and braided chains on the waistband.

Just like Aaron’s priestly breastplate was part of his whole uniform, the figurative breastplate of righteousness that we are called to put on every day has to be connected to the rest of our “outfit,” so to speak, with a belt: the belt of truth.

What happens when you wear loose pants without a belt? You risk losing your britches!

On the same token, what happens when you try to put on righteousness without truth? There are plenty of people in the world who act righteous. They may be passionate about what they believe, proclaim their message to the masses and even have a following of believers who hang on their every word. But, without the belt of truth, their message won’t stand the test of time any more than my skinny seven-year-old’s jeans will stay above his hips during recess without a belt.

Truth will stand up to inquiry. Test the messages that you hear in the world; see if they connect with the Word of God.

You can’t mail dirt

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The elder two are on a mystery errand with Nana, at the moment, and the younger three decided that they wanted to sit on the front porch and “draw nature.” By all means, I said … after all, I still have two pages to write before this term-paper-that-never-ends will be complete … and sent them to the porch armed with notepads and pencils to sketch sticks and ferns.

Well, No. 5 just walked in with a stamped envelope that he found in the study (it was one that his older brother took to summer camp with intentions of mailing a letter to Nana and Granddad but never got around to sending) and asked if he could “mail nature to Nana.” At that, I looked up from my work and saw that the envelope looked rather thick.

He had filled it with dirt and grass.

He had even decorated the envelope and written “NATURE” in big letters on the back. I had to inform him that I didn’t think you could mail dirt, but he could hand-deliver the envelope to Nana and Granddad for their yard. What a gift … my mom will be so thrilled. :p

Foodie Friday: DIY Dinner

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I can’t recall where I first heard/read the idea of carving bell peppers instead of (or in addition to) pumpkins, but I’m sure there are several sites to spark your creativity. We had a do-it-yourself dinner instead of carving pumpkins for Halloween, and the boys had a blast. It was the younger ones’ first time to use a “real” knife (a paring knife), and I’m pleased to report that dinner did not result in bloodshed.

I splurged on colorful bell peppers from the grocery store, one for each person. Our garden still has a couple of small, green ones, but the red ones got overheated in the Texas sun. I browned some ground turkey and added seasonings like I might use for meatloaf, etc. We topped it with shredded cheese. I knew that not everyone would like the bell peppers (they have a very strong flavor, after all), so I just took what was left over, chopped it up and froze the pepper pieces for future use.

Here are our creations:

Clockwise, from top left: No. 2 had the clever idea to carve his upside-down so that it would stand alone. No. 5 did a surprisingly good job on his red one! Mine is the “BU” one. 🙂  No. 4 started off well but accidentally cut his pepper’s face open. No. 3 decided to go with a Picasso look … or else just wanted to make a funny face. The pile o’ slivers on the last plate were No. 1’s creation that he decided to chop up, instead. I wasn’t going to include it in the photo, but that apparently hurt his feelings, so we’ll call his creation … abstract.

After dinner, I surprised the boys with a DIY dessert — inside-out candy apples! They are so simple and much, much easier to eat than the dipped kind. You just partially core the apple but leave the bottom of the core intact to keep the caramel from oozing out, then stuff a couple of caramel squares in the cored out section, bake at 350 or so until the caramel is melted and the apple is starting to get soft. Enjoy!

The 10-1/2yo certainly enjoyed his! 🙂

inside-out candy apples

Please vote for Heartline Ministries in Haiti

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I know what it’s like to have to raise support for missions, and I would really, really REALLY like to see Heartline Ministries earn the $50,000 grant award from Giving of Life to support their maternity center in Haiti.

Pretty please take a moment (literally, it’s super quick) to vote for them.

If you would be so kind, please also share on Twitter, re-post to your own blog or shout it from the mountaintop so others will also vote before the Friday deadline.

If you want to learn more about the awesome work happening in Haiti, I highly recommend the blogs by Heartline Ministries, the Livesay family and Sit a Spell!

Thanks! >hugs<

Writing Wednesday: Grades

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I got my knickers in a wad the other day when a prof gave me a tentative “C” on an assignment because he “didn’t see” my attached document. I even explained in the memo section of the submission page that it was an Excel document with three tabs. I even turned in the assignment early!

I fumed over it for a few minutes, resent the document as an email attachment instead of via the assignment screen (since I’d already submitted it, I couldn’t resend it that way, anyway). Then, I had an epiphany.

It.

Doesn’t.

Matter.

Seriously — in five, 10, 15 years (or hopefully only 2-1/2) after I earn my doctorate, will anyone but me care? Will they announce my GPA as I walk across the stage at graduation? Will a prospective employer scour my transcript for anything other than to verify that yes, indeed, I did earn a bonafide degree? The answer is NO.

Cs get degrees. The Honors Student in me involuntarily shivers as I read that, but it’s true. Don’t get me wrong — GPA matters a lot in high school. It can make or break college acceptance, scholarships, etc. However, once you get into college (and especially graduate school), who cares? That would be NO ONE. Unless you are applying to med school or law school, I really think that we (read: *I*) stress out much too much about grades.

Not any more. I will still do my best, but I’m not going to bend over backwards, stand on my head and gargle peanut butter just to earn an A. I have a life outside of school, and I would like to keep my sanity to enjoy it.

So, when I start stressing out over papers due, etc., feel free to thump me in the head and remind me of this little sermonette. It’s really going to be ok, Ang. You will survive if you get a C!