Dear God, please let us win the lottery...

Oh yes I certainly did to... Here's that prayer:

Dear God, please let us win the lottery so that we can travel and stop stressing about money. If we don't win the lottery, please shower me with contentment.

I firmly believe there are times when Jesus sits down to listen to me and he just shakes his head. Either because I've just proven to Him that i need Him or because he is tired of hearing me go on and on... I know that isn't true. Jesus is infinitely patient and full of grace (the opposite of me). But still, what is my problem? Where does this "stuff-ness" desire come from?Oh I know the answer. The root of all that is evil and eating away at my contentment and peace.

FACEBOOK!

(Do you find it ironic that I would bad mouth my blog posting notification medium?)

I have a beautiful non-Facebook friend that solidified my opinion when she texted me a couple of weeks ago....

Beautiful Non-Facebook Friend: Facebook is evil.
Me: I KNOW! My life is incomplete and empty and I am the only person I know that doesn't have a new house....

Well, it went something like that. You get the shallow gist of it. So I've decided (begrudgingly) that i need to figure out a way GET OVER IT! When i was facebook-fasting for Jesus (a.k.a. during Lent) i had an incredible peace and found myself without headaches, with more energy, and content for like the first time ever. What happened? Could it be that my time spent not reading the bible and Facebook stalking friends has dropped me into this spiral on discontent. (No? Well, maybe).

So I found that the bible actually addresses this issue. (I'm not at all surprised that my Heavenly Father has it covered.)

Ecclesiastes 6:9 NLT (I added a little to this)
Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have. Just dreaming about nice things (or pinning them) is meaningless-like chasing the wind.

1 Timothy 6:6
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.

"Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, most people still believe that money brings happiness. Rich people craving greater riches can be caught in an endless cycle that only ends in ruin and destruction. Paul gives us some guidelines:
1) Realize that one day riches will be gone;
2) be content with what you have;
3) monitor what you are willing to do to get more money;
4) love people more that money;
5) love God's work more than money;
6) freely share what you have with others."

Turns out I have already won the lottery (Not just marrying the handsomest man ever), I just need to access the vault.





I'm committing more time to Jesus. I'm gonna sit down with my used eBay bible and read this summer. (Yes, bought my "new" bible on eBay....those highlights in the picture were done by the previous owner. It's a long story.)

By the way, I promised to tithe my lottery winnings at one point during my prayer....don't judge!!

Joyfully full of it,
Tiff

**the notes are from my used eBay bible... NLT Parallel Study Bible.

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Butt-head and other pretty words

1 John 3:18
Dear Children, Let us not merely say that we love each other, let us show this truth with our actions.

Sometimes parenting can be challenging...can I get an Amen?

My good one (the boy) has been pushing the limits lately. We tied the source of this terrible behavior to a boy at school we'll call Judas. Judas has spent this school year picking and pushing my beloved son. We've worked very hard at home to equip him. Because after all, there are jerks in my everyday life and it is necessary to figure out how to survive the check out line at Wal-mart.

The verse I started with is the one our family is memorizing this month. It has been more effective than some of the others I've tried to burn into their minds. The boy has been intentionally showing love when he remembers and he's not hungry or mad. But yesterday, on the way home from church and an hour of Jesus, we argued. Our 3 minute commute turned into a death match of words! So after the boy called the girl a Liar, I proceeded to really stick it to him (in Jesus' name...) and told him to stop being a butt-head.

True Classy parenting is happening here!

But I still love him deeply...even during his butt-head moments. (Which I am quite convinced he learned from the big one...he's hot, but not perfect). And today God gave me a quote from my new favorite author and mom Jen Hatmaker....

“Your kids might act like shining angels dropped them straight into your arms from the bosom of heaven, and if so, the rest of us don’t really like you. But if you have a challenging child, or a stubborn child, or one who refuses to learn his lesson—okay, basically all kids—forgiveness is a peculiar discipline to practice as mothers.” Excerpt From: Hatmaker, Jen. “Out of the Spin Cycle.”

Today, on purpose, I will chose Grace and love on my little man in that smothering embarrassing mother kind of way. I challenge you to love exceedingly deeply today. The big ones and little ones need you more today than yesterday.

Joyfully full of it,
Tiff

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad