Don't waste your Freedom

It was for Freedom...that Christ has set us Free...
therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

We have been set free from the law of sin & death....Living under Grace...a covering....or a safety net if you will...we stumble; we bumble...but we are not lost & forsaken for we have an advocate, a counselor, a redeemer to help us get back on track. We have a way out...a way back. He never leaves us...we turn around and there He is...arms open, accepting.

Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

We have been set free from religious obligation. We are instructed to not allow anyone to judge us in regards to what we eat, what we drink, or what days we hold holy. We are free to choose those according to our faith, to live in the Spirit and simply obey what He speaks to our hearts. Just walk in Love with one another....

We are free in Christ to choose a church, to worship as He leads, to express ourselves as His spirit moves us...closer....deeper...loving us, changing us.

FREEDOM: Don't waste it. Guard it. Exercise it. Cherish it. Celebrate it!

Saturday....work day

Nathan blessed us with an afternoon of "help" in putting the kitchen back together...he moved back the pantry and then the island and secured them...he moved the table back, fixed the oven, then the frig...trimmed the door to fit and re-hung it...we simply could not have managed without his help...
THANK YOU NATE! MUWAH! WE LOVE YOU...


The twinados had to get involved and help him out...while Kaeden took a ride on Daddy's old rocking horse....then he decided to take his first steps...
YAHOO!

May I opine about healthcare

The healthcare debate is certainly getting heated...and rightly so. After all you are dealing with a person's most intimate. personal life decisions.

I am annoyed by the labels attached to my point of view. I am against this bill in it's current form. Am I selfish, misinformed, or an idiot....blindly following lies told to me by the special interest groups. Uh no.
I studied these sytems extensively while in college, and continued to keep myself informed. Back then, the issue was MRI's. My kid needed one, and we waited a week for an appointment. In Canada....they had only 2 for the entire country...the wait for an appointment there was more than a year.
I shudder to think what could have happened to my kid's injury.

I don't think it's a good idea to hand over to the government (whose track record is questionable) this part of life. Many experts also agree with me...and the people who have socilized healthcare (Canada, England, Russia)also think we are crazy to mess with our system- unanimously hailed as the best in the world. Can we improve it? sure. Let's work toward that, in a deliberate, rational manner...not under a self-imposed timeline...we have seen in the past few months that this mentality to rush thru a bill...usually ends in a bad result.
Let's consider these principals from a different point of view.

A Car & Car Insurance: everyone ought to have them. That is fair. You can't work, go to school,or do anything without a car. I'd like to help the folks who don't have one. So I think the government should provide a car and the insurance to every person who does not have it. Everyone who has a car (that they worked & saved for)should be charged an extra amount so that people who can't work, don't work, & won't work for whatever reason will have what they want. Some of these people have totaled several cars...and even driven while drunk...they decided to not carry insurance for it was costly, but they should still have the right to drive- at my expense?
Years ago, the law was changed to require everyone to carry their own insurance, for their own car, at their own expense.

See the pilgrims tried this "lets give everyone the same thing philosophy"...they held all things in common...the idea was that together they could meet everyone's needs easily....but human nature got in the way..and soon, a few, who did not plow, plant, harvest, preserve or prepare...wanted to sit at the table and eat their full too! They figured out that they could sit back and do nothing....and still be taken care of....so they did. Those settlers promptly changed the rules...if you did not work, then you did not eat.
If Anyone Will Not Work Neither Shall He Eat - 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11

So Let''s instead tell people that they must work for what they want...If they need temporary assistance...or emergency care-we'll help them. Let's go further and have a system that takes care of those who simply can't take care of themselves...that is kind. That is just. That is charitable.
But let's not tell the simple working man or woman to make more bricks with the same straw...pay for yourself to live & pay for your neighbors to have the same as you even though they do not work for it.

I have never felt that health insurance was a right to be possessed.
I have been without and been pregnant,
and I have been blessed with some good coverage.
I have never had completely free coverage. This is one reason my husband keeps a job...to pay for us to have coverage. We are responsible. We also see the need to help out those not as fortunate. That is Charity.


"Charity is voluntary. The giving of charitable help is to be done by individuals (and organizations they may form). Charity is not to be compelled by the State. Forced charity takes from one & gives to another." -David J. Bostrom

get it fixed

Today I am getting a new wood floor...in my kitchen. I have always wanted one.

Then the extermintator is coming...because bee's have taken up residence under my house..."what kind of bee's? are they furry?" furry bees?
seriously...now I have to worry about furry bees?



Monday the door guy is coming..it won't close (nor open) right.

It used to be that Bob would do all these things himself. But we are tired, and he is recouping from surgery, and this is so much easier than having him figure it all out by himself.
So pick up the phone and get it fixed is my new battle cry!

Can't wait to see the bill.

The Party's Over....

The parties are over...
the dishes packed away....
Joel & Steph are back in OK
Bob is at work....and the house is quiet once more.
I know it's still August...but at our house the tide has turned
it's back to school and more about harvest than planting...

I love this season....and this season in my soul...
I love my Time alone with Him.
I love His poking and prodding of me...it feels good to my spirit
sort of like a back rub...sometimes vigorous, sometimes soothing..
always appropriate & medicinal

"hmmm hmmm hmmm-
When the music fades
And all is stripped away
And I simply come
...Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth that will bless your heart...."

I am grateful to God for my kids & Grandkids...and Bob...and family
I am grateful for this life...this call...this purpose...
Here am I, Lord....

"la la la...
Where you lead, I will follow
Anywhere that you tell me to
If you need, you need me to be with you
I will follow where you lead "

ton o' fun revised

Our beautiful neice,Lori, hosted a family field day for the family...
billed as a contest between the "Carlsons" and the "Mauses"
The games were picked by the carlsons, rules made by the carlsons, and games judged by the carlsons.....(Uncle Bob got to help with the bake-off...on second thought that may have been to protect Uncle Terry)

A Carlson:
1)any one named carslon at any time in their life (except for aunt linda)
2)anyone married to a carlson and the offspring of such a union.
3)anyone dating a carlson.

A Maus:
1)anyone currently named Maus.


we came, we played hard, we lost
Uncle Bob (having just had rotator-cuff surgery)
played with his right arm tied behind his back...so to speak
We took the first two events but lost or tied the rest.
The toddlers and babies took a turn at the sack race...Connor was the first to finish without being helped or carried.


Looks like Terry is praying...and who can blame him given our history with this sort of thing...
Miraculously, I was even allowed to enter the dessert competition,
and although I did not win...I got a decent score and feel that I am redeemed from the misdemeanor muffin incident.



Joel has a black eye, Steph is a bit bruised, Sarah got body-slammed by Chris, but it looks to me like April got the best of Chris with the pie fight...with a little help from Nate.







And of course, a ton of fun was had by all!

tired...sic

but not sick & tired..having a blast with my kids...
If only I could stop sneezing...
I need a whole body transplant, I think