“A continual dripping on a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike; Whoever restrains her restrains the wind, And grasps oil with his right hand.” Proverbs 27:15-16
Proverbs 19:13 tells us that the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping. In its notes, The New Geneva Study Bible states for contentions: nagging. I sure don’t want to be described like that, do you?
~Theresa
I am continuing “Truth for Thursday” here at Being Refined As Silver. We are on the last chapter of “Lies Women Believe”, chapter 11: “The Truth That Sets Us Free”. It will take several weeks to review this chapter, so I hope you will continue to come back each week.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss encourages her readers to take time to savor these liberating, life-changing truths. She suggests saying each Truth aloud, again and again until your thinking becomes aligned with God’s way of thinking.
Here is the fourth truth:
God is enough.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
A few years ago I did a bible study by Elizabeth George (one of my favorite Christian authors) titled “Powerful Promises for Every Woman: 12 Life-Changing Truths from Psalm 23”. Each week we went through one of the verses. I would like to share a bit of what I learned in that study.
In Hebrew the words the Lord is my shepherd come from two words, Jehovah-Rohi. One major meaning of the word shepherd is “to feed”. God feeds us both physically and spiritually. As one of God’s sheep you have the promise that He will feed you.
Another way the word shepherd is used in the Bible is in a figurative sense to signify the leadership role of a prince with his people. What a comfort to know that we are led by our Great Shepherd. We may not know the path that is before us but we can trust that God will lead us. God promises it in His Word.
Another figurative use of the word rohi is in regard to folly and judgment. In the scriptures we are warned not to consume, take part of or be involved with activities that would not exalt God. As we walk close to God and delight in Him we are safe from God’s judgment. (Summarized from Elizabeth George’s book)
Are we living in the truth that God is our shepherd? Are we seeking after something else to lead us? May we take comfort in knowing that God is our shepherd. He will feed us and lead us. May we seek to always walk close to Him.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss sums it up so well by writing “The Truth is, if we have Him, we have everything we need for our present peace and happiness.”
To God be the Glory!
~Theresa
I want to say thanks for the two blog awards I received from two of my favorite bloggers. The Chatty Mommy and Amy Danielle at Overweights of Joy. Thank you ladies, you are so sweet to think of me.
The rules are easy.
1. Thank the person who gave the award to you.
2. Share seven random things about yourself.
3. Pass it on.
Okay, here it goes. Seven random things about me.
1- I am a Long Island girl through and through. I have always lived in NY. I love it here.
2- I have a degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. I taught for nine years. I now homeschool my children.
3- I received an award in high school at Senior Award Day. It was for the best turn around. It said “Things don’t change, people change”. It was given to me by one of my favorite teachers.
4- I met my husband at a Christian coffee house. We got along really well and both of us thought we might meet someone through each other. We didn’t know at the time that God had a plan for us to be together.
5- I am shy…until you get to know me. Then I don’t shut up.
6- I love playing Ms. Pacman. My husband bought me a game that hooks up to the VCR to play at home. (Am I dating myself?)
7- I cry easily. I cry at movies and commercials. I can cry by thinking of joyous times.
Now I pass this award on to: (a while back I passed on The Sunshine Award, I am now trying to give this award to more of my favorite bloggers)
Please take the time to visit these bloggers, if you haven’t already. You will be glad you did.
~Theresa
The following was written by Dr. Loretta Lanphier, ND. You can read more of her articles at www.oasisadvancedwellness.com. I know it is long, but it is important. No more Breyers, Haagan Dazs or Baskin Robbins for me! These were some of my favorite ice creams, but I will not purchase them anymore. Not until they vow to use milk from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones.
Is Your Favorite Ice Cream Made With Monsanto's Artificial Hormones?
Monsanto has been in the news this week, with a U.S. District Court Judge ruling that the USDA has to at least go through the motions of regulating the company's genetically engineered sugar beets. Monsanto, you may know, is not likely to win any contests for the most popular company. In fact, it has been called the most hated corporation in the world, which is saying something, given the competition from the likes of BP, Halliburton and Goldman Sachs.
This has gotten me thinking about, of all things, ice cream, and of how Monsanto's clammy paws can be found in some of the most widely selling ice cream brands in the country. These brands could break free from Monsanto's clutches. So far they haven't, but maybe this is about to change. Ben & Jerry's gets all their milk from dairies that have pledged not to inject their cows with genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH). Why, then, can't Haagen Dazs, Breyers and Baskin-Robbins do the same? Starbucks now guarantees that all their milk, cream and other dairy products are rBGH-free. So do Yoplait and Dannon yogurts, Tillamook cheese, Chipotle restaurants, and many others. But ice cream giants Haagen Dazs, Breyers and Baskin-Robbins continue to use milk from cows injected with rBGH, a hormone that's been banned in Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Australia and all 27 nations of the European Union. As if to add insult to injury, Haagen Dazs and Breyers have the audacity to tell us, right on the label, that their ice cream is " All Natural."
We have Monsanto to thank for rBGH. Monsanto developed the artificial hormone and marketed it aggressively for years, before selling it in 2008 to Elanco, a division of the Eli Lilly drug company. Of course, Monsanto (and now Elanco) wants us to think the hormone is in every way completely satisfactory and safe. Monsanto's party line has consistently been that there is "no significant difference" in the milk derived from cows who have been dosed with the hormone compared to those who haven't. Pardon me for not swallowing Monsanto's hooey, but if that's so, why have so many countries outlawed rBGH? Are these countries all run by ignorant Luddites who oppose technology and progress? Or might there actually be compelling reasons? There are, indeed. One of them is that injecting the genetically engineered hormone into cows increases the levels of a substance called IGF-1 in their milk. Monsanto's own studies found that the amount of IGF-1 in milk more than doubled when cows were injected with rBGH. Studies by independent researchers show gains as much as six-fold. (Scientific citations in support of the statements in this article can be found here.) Does it matter whether there are excess levels of IGF-1 in milk? It decidedly did to the European Commission's authoritative international 16-member scientific committee. Their report said the excessive levels of IGF-1 found in the milk of cows injected with rBGH may pose serious risks of breast, colon and prostate cancer. How serious is the increased risk? According to an article in the May 9, 1998 issue of the medical journal The Lancet, pre-menopausal women with even moderately elevated blood levels of IGF-1 are up to seven times more likely to develop breast cancer than women with lower levels. As if these risks to human health weren't enough reason for nations to prohibit the use of rBGH, there are more. The artificial hormone is also notorious for causing the cows much pain and distress. It does this by increasing painful and debilitating diseases like lameness and mastitis in cows who are injected with it. And because it increases udder infections in cows, it has greatly increased the use of antibiotics in the U.S. dairy industry. If you wanted to design a system to breed antibiotic-resistant bacteria, you'd be hard pressed to do better. Does the increase in udder infections have an effect on the milk, and thus any ice cream, cheese or other product made from it? Most definitely, according to Dr. Richard Burroughs, a veterinarian deeply familiar with rBGH. "It results in an increase of white blood cells," he says, "which means there's pus in the milk!" The antibiotic use, he adds, "leaves residues in the milk. It's all very serious." How, then, was such a dubious and tainted product ever approved for use in the U.S.? The answer provides a glimpse of how successful Monsanto's efforts have been to exert control over our nation's food policies.
By all accounts, the FDA's 1993 decision to allow the use of rBGH was one of the most controversial in the agency's history. Made amid widespread criticism from scientists, government leaders and farmers, including many researchers and officials inside the FDA, the decision was overseen by Michael R. Taylor, the FDA's Deputy Commissioner of Policy from 1991-1994. Was Taylor unbiased? Prior to holding that position, he was an attorney at King & Spaulding, Monsanto's law firm, where he presided over the firm's "food and drug law" practice. After the decision was made which gave the green light to rBGH, he left the FDA and resumed working directly for Monsanto, as vice president and chief lobbyist. How significant was Taylor's role in getting rBGH approved? As of August 15, 2010, his Wikipedia entry said that he "has long been hostile to food safety," and "is widely credited with ushering recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) through the FDA regulatory process and into the milk supply -- unlabeled." (This statement was removed from Wikipedia immediately after I referred to it in a comment following an article I wrote last week for The Huffington Post on the topic. Apparently, if you can get your people in and out of key positions at the FDA, messing with Wikipedia is a piece of cake.) Congressman Bernie Sanders was specifically referring to Taylor when he said "the FDA allowed corporate influence to run rampant in its approval of BGH." Documentaries including "The World According to Monsanto" and "The Future of Food" present Taylor's pro-Monsanto actions at the FDA as a dramatic example of the how corporate influence has exerted massive control over the FDA. Today, Taylor again works for the FDA, now as Deputy Commissioner of Foods. Things have taken a different turn in Canada, but not for want of effort on the part of Monsanto. During Canada's scientific review of Monsanto's application for approval of rBGH, Canadian health officials said Monsanto tried to bribe them, and government scientists testified that they were being pressured by higher-ups to approve rBGH against their better scientific judgment. But in 1999, after eight years of study, Canadian health authorities rejected Monsanto's application for approval of rBGH. In the U.S. today, Monsanto continues to wield massive influence over U.S. food policies. In spite of, or perhaps in response to, Monsanto's toxic and tenacious grip on our nation's food policy, a movement is afoot.
Every day more and more people are refusing to buy ice cream and other dairy products made with rBGH. And every day another organization adds its name to the growing list of groups campaigning against Monsanto's influence, and calling for the FDA decision allowing the use of rBGH to be revoked. Late last year, the prestigious American Public Health Association officially called for a ban on rBGH. The Consumers Union, publishers of Consumer Reports has likewise taken an official position opposing rBGH. So has the American Nurses Association, Health Care Without Harm, Food and Water Watch, Center for Food Safety, National Family Farm Coalition, Family Farm Defenders and many other groups.
At this very moment, the plucky Oregon chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is leading a nationwide effort to persuade Breyers (whose brands include Good Humor, Klondike Bars and Popsicle), and Dreyer's (whose brands include Haagen Dazs, Nestle and Edy's) to go rBGH-free. The campaign focuses on Breyers and Dreyer's because they are the two largest ice cream producers in the country today. If you want to strike a blow against Monsanto's efforts to control the world food supply, you can follow me on Twitter, post this article to your facebook page, spread the word and get engaged.
Monsanto and its allies have a grand vision. They are intent on controlling the world's food supply. Don't let them. And don't let them cram their genetically engineered products down your throat. Even in a product as tempting and sweet as ice cream, that's no treat.
John Robbins is the only son of Irvine Robbins, the co-founder and co-owner of Baskin-Robbins, and was groomed by his father to run what was at one time the world's largest ice cream company. But John walked away from the company and the wealth it represented in order to advocate for a healthier and more compassionate way of life. To learn more about his journey along his own "rocky road," see The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less. John is also the author of The Food Revolution, Diet for a New America and six other books. For more info, see johnrobbins.info. John's father died in 2008, and there are no longer any members of the Robbins or Baskin families involved with the company.
Please give serious consideration to boycotting products that use artificial growth hormones.
~Theresa
I am continuing “Truth for Thursday” here at Being Refined As Silver. We are on the last chapter of “Lies Women Believe”, chapter 11: “The Truth That Sets Us Free”. It will take several weeks to review this chapter, so I hope you will continue to come back each week.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss encourages her readers to take time to savor these liberating, life-changing truths. She suggests saying each Truth aloud, again and again until your thinking becomes aligned with God’s way of thinking.
Here is the third truth:
I am complete and accepted in Christ.
“…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:4-6
REJECTION- we all have experienced it. Some of us may still fear it. We may have been rejected by a friend, family member, employer, or dare I say… a fellow blogger. There is good news. If you are in Christ, you are ACCEPTED in Him. There is not one thing we can do to make ourselves acceptable to God. We are accepted through the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ. Since He is acceptable to God and we stand in Him, God accepts us. What an amazing truth!
Are you trying to make yourself acceptable to God? Do you feel like you are not good enough? Are you waiting for everything to be perfect? Well my friend, it will never happen in your own strength. We will never be good enough on our own to earn God’s acceptance. We are all sinners and even the smallest sin is a serious offense against a Holy God.
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10
You can’t do it on your own. But the good news is you don’t have to. Jesus is the way to acceptance with God.
Jesus said to them, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time…” 1 Timothy 2:5-6
“…Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, and then by the twelve.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-5
To God be The Glory!
~Theresa
Here in New York school starts right after Labor Day. We usually start our official homeschooling year the following week. Today our books arrived and what a heavy box it was! We use Covenant Home Curriculum which is a Christian, classical method of education. We’ve been using it since my daughter was doing Pre-K and she is now starting third grade. This year my son is starting Kindergarten. I love this curriculum. As a former public school teacher I like the structure of it. It is very organized and comes with a scheduling guide, tests, and grading masters. They even offer grade auditing.
I was planning on including photos of all the books, but there are just way too many!
I need to work on tweaking our schedule. I still have a few weeks to work on that. I use the scheduling system from “Managers of Their Homes” by Steve and Teri Maxwell. You fill in each time frame for each person in the house with what they will be doing during that time. Everyone knows what they should be doing by looking at the schedule. I also plan on revamping our chores. The Maxwells also have a very helpful book called “Managers of Their Chores”. You can use the ideas in the book to suit your family. For us, the kids have various chores that they do three times a day; morning, after lunch and before bed. It includes things like dressing, brushing teeth, bible reading, setting the table, etc.
I have to say I am excited for the fall. There are still a few weeks left of summer and although I plan on enjoying them and getting some more swimming in, there is just something about fall. It is my favorite season. I love the crispness in the air, the leaves changing colors, apple picking, baking, drinking hot tea (and not sweating), wearing jeans, sweaters and boots after a long summer of shorts, t-shirts and flip flops and drives out on the North Fork of Long Island. What are you looking forward to this fall?
“As you look ahead to the fall, do not lose your focus on building a strong marriage.
1. We must continue to remember those dating days and what made us fall in love with our husbands in the first place.
3.Remember to ask your husband how you can be praying for him daily.
4.Remember to tell your husband how you admire him.
5.Remember to keep your priorities in line.
6.Remember to follow your husband's lead and vision for your family.
7.Remember to respect your husband.
8. Remember to keep kissing him like you mean it!
No matter what season you are in, God longs for you to follow his design for marriage.
This summer, many of you participated in the Marriage Challenge. How did it go? How did it change you and how did it change your marriage?”
I participated in the Marriage Challenge and really enjoyed it. It kept my mind focused on what is important in marriage and encouraged me to be the wife I am designed to be. Instead of complaining about the things that I would like to change, I have been trying to focus on myself. By doing so, those things usually end up changing in the process. Thanks Courtney!
~Theresa
I am continuing “Truth for Thursday” here at Being Refined As Silver. We are on the last chapter of “Lies Women Believe”, chapter 11: “The Truth That Sets Us Free”. It will take several weeks to review this chapter, so I hope you will continue to come back each week.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss encourages her readers to take time to savor these liberating, life-changing truths. She suggests saying each Truth aloud, again and again until your thinking becomes aligned with God’s way of thinking.
Here is the second truth:
God loves me and wants me to have His best.
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things.” Romans 8:32
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come, nor height not depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
That second verse always gets me. Read it again. Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Isn’t that a powerful truth. When I find myself fretting I remember that nothing can pluck me out of the hand of my Heavenly Father. What a comfort!
Nancy Leigh DeMoss sums it up so well:
“God doesn’t love us because we’re lovable or worthy, but because He is love. There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn or deserve His love. We cannot comprehend such unconditional love; but if we believe it and receive it, His love will transform our lives.
Because God is good and loves us perfectly, we can be confident that He longs for us to experience all the joy in life He designed us to know. He knows we will only find this true and lasting joy and fulfillment in Him. He loves us so much, He insists we come to Him, where alone we can be fully satisfied.”
Has His love transformed your life? If not, you can not know true and lasting joy. You may search and search and once in a while think you found something, but it will not last. Turn to the only One who can give you true joy and life in Him, Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory!
~Theresa
~Theresa
I am continuing “Truth for Thursday” here at Being Refined As Silver. We are on the last chapter of “Lies Women Believe”, chapter 11: “The Truth That Sets Us Free”. It will take several weeks to review this chapter, so I hope you will continue to come back each week.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss encourages her readers to take time to savor these liberating, life-changing truths. She suggests saying each Truth aloud, again and again until your thinking becomes aligned with God’s way of thinking.
Here is the first truth:
God is good.
“You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.” Psalm 119-68
“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 136:1
It is easy to believe this when everything is going well for us. It is easy for us to see the blessings we have then. But what about when things get rough? The Enemy will move in and cause us to question God’s goodness. You may start to think “Does God really know what He is doing? How can this be for my good and His glory? Is God really good to His people?”
When these lies start to flood your mind, remember what God’s Word tells us. The truth is God is good and everything He does is good. It does not depend on our circumstances, our feelings or our thoughts. Won’t you join me today in hiding God’s Word in our hearts? May it wash away any thoughts that question God’s goodness.
~Theresa
It is week 8 of the Completing Him Marriage Challenge hosted by Courtney at Women Living Well. This week she writes:
“This week - take some time to assess your husband's respect-o-meter. Ask him what sort of things you do that make him feel disrespected and respected. Work on weeding out disrespectful thoughts and attitudes and exchanging them for respectful ones.”
It is easy to do what we should be doing when everyone else is doing what we think they should be doing. It is more difficult when we feel like everyone else is not holding up their end of the deal. For example, we are commanded to love our neighbors. That is easy to do when we have neighbors who are considerate of us. But what about when their teens park their cars in front of our house and leave their garbage there? I certainly do not feel like loving them, but I still can respond in a loving way.
We are commanded to respect our husbands in scripture, and husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the church.
“Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:33
Are you holding up your end?
~Theresa
