Bad Girls of the Bible- Chapter 5 Bible Study

Welcome back!

If you are new, thanks for stopping by!

Last week we talked about The Woman at the Well.

Today I am going to focus on Delilah.

Is it just me or when you hear the name Delilah does this song come to mind:

Okay...sorry, let me get back on track.

Chapter 5: The First Cut is the Deepest

Oh Samson and Delilah.
Aside from the story of the Ark, Moses and the 10 Commandments, Jonah and the Whale, and a few others this is one of the stories I remember from Sunday school lessons past.
I don't think I ever really fathomed what was going on here.
An unwed man and woman, having an intimate relationship, only to end because of deceit, greed, and selfishness.

Did anyone else read this story and think, "What was wrong with Samson"?
I mean seriously how did he not see this coming?
She nagged him and pestered him and poked and prodded the answer right out of him.
What is the saying:
"Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me".
"Fool me three times and I'll totally not see it coming when you succeed the fourth time"?!

If you are human you know the 'benefits' or the feeling of nagging.

As children we probably asked our parents over and over and over again for things, wants, etc.

As teens it was probably 100x worse.

In relationships whether dating or married we've probably nagged about bad habits or attempted to find out about surprises....

Yet when everything is said and done, and if we get our way, we don't tend to feel as satisfied as we thought we would.

As a spouse, if I have to nag my husband to do something, when he finally does, I don't feel a sense of relief because it's done, I feel sad that I stressed my husband out about something so minuscule.

All Delilah was offered was enough money to make a new life for herself...

I guess that in itself was motivation enough.

Can you imagine her thought process.

She's unwed.

Having relations with this gorgeous man.

But they aren't married.

She's disliked because she is a harlot.

It's possible that Samson was an irritating, full of himself man.

I mean he was a prideful man, can you imagine him walking around tossing his hair over his shoulder and going on and on about how awesome he was.

Maybe Delilah couldn't take it anymore!  

They offered her money.

Enough money that she could move away, start fresh, maybe find a man who would marry her and make an honest woman of her.

What would you have done?

We will never know, hopefully you've never been put in that situation.

WHAT LESSONS CAN WE LEARN FROM DELILAH?

- 1 -  The love of a man is to be treasured.

"The heart of her husband trusts in her." ~Proverbs 31:11

- 2 -  Silver and gold aren't good company.

"To be esteemed is better than silver or gold." ~Proverbs 22:1

- 3 - Weaknesses need to be strengthened, not exposed.

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses...For when I am weak, then I am strong." ~2 Corinthians 12:10

- 4 - For a happy home, keep your scissors out of reach.

"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." ~Proverbs 14:1

Let's take a moment to reflect on our own lives.

Have you ever had a time in your life that you wanted to hurt someone?

Physically, emotionally, financially, socially....any other "-ally" way?

Did you seek revenge?

What happened because of it?

Did you feel better afterwards?

If you did nothing how were you able to resist the temptation of revenge?

In my own life I have been hurt by people, mostly emotionally.

I've been taken for granted.

I've been walked over and trampled on.

It's easy to look back and say I wish these people knew how they made me feel, but at the same time I don't wish that on anyone.

It's horrible to feel so alone, so guarded, so afraid to speak for fear you'll be misinterpreted.

That's the big one in my life.

I lost a friendship because a friend misinterpreted something I said.

Despite trying to resolve the issue there was no going back.

Do you think Delilah, after witnessing Samson lose his strength, wished she could give the money back and go back to what was?

I have to imagine that the feeling of cold coins in her pocket book did not feel nearly as comforting as the strength and warmth of Samson.

We live in a world where revenge is the motivation for so many movies and tv shows.

I have yet to watch it, but there is actually a show called "REVENGE".

We thrive on the drama...we tune in week after week.

Over and over again.

Read this verse and see what the Bible says about revenge:

Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the Lord.

Brush it off?

Walk away?

Forgive and forget?

Isaiah 30:12-13 Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, this sin will come for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant.

Do you think of Delilah when you read that verse?

"depended on deceit"

"sin will come for you like a high wall...."

The question is posed in our study guide, 

Do you think Delilah was among those killed when the temple collapsed?

I assume she was.

She DID have feelings for Samson, I'm sure she was curious how her actions would affect this man.

She probably went to see what everyone around her had been talking about..."Did you see Samson in the temple....weak and beaten"? 

She probably couldn't believe it having only known him as strong and mighty.

How does this reflect now days?

How many of you have 'friends' on Facebook to whom you aren't actually friends with anymore?

Have you stalked them, curious of what they became?

It's hard, especially now days, to be and let be.

Curiosity gets the best of us.

Even if Delilah did get away do you think she was ever happy?

Can money ever really make you happy?

What's the most important lesson you've learned from this Woman?

 

I learned 1 lesson from Delilah and 1 from Samson.

For Delilah money can't buy you happiness, cliche as it sounds.

For Samson, never confuse lust (which promises nothing) with love (which provides an environment of trust, safety, and honesty).

Is there someone who has betrayed you recently?

Have you been hurt?

I ask you today to forgive the person.

By doing so you will have done the best you can.

You can walk away feeling at peace.

It's simple....

Keep Calm....and let go.

Don't be a Delilah.

Don't be greedy.

Don't be deceitful.

Don't be a Samson.

Don't be prideful.

Don't be blind.

I hope you have enjoyed this time of study.

Please let me know if you would like to see something in particular in our discussions or if you have any questions.

I hope you have a Blessed Friday!

Behind....

Good Morning Everyone!

So normally on Thursdays you will come here and find a crafty project that I've been working on.

**looks around**

Bbbuuuutttt you might notice that today there isn't one.

I had planned on sharing our finished or nearly finished dining room table benches today.

We have had one of them finished for quite sometime now, but with Bitsy's Godparents coming into town this weekend I politely asked Bud if he could get the 2nd bench together and finished.

Now don't get me wrong he tried!

Saturday he went to the wood shop for a few hours and then he left once everything was glued and in the vises.  

Tuesday, the next day the wood shop was open, he arrived right after work only to discover that the planer was not up and running.

They had sent the blades for sharpening, but they weren't back yet.

Without the planer he is at a standstill.

So hopefully those blades will be back today or tomorrow and if that is the case he should be able to at least get the benches together.

**Fingers crossed** 

I can show you 2 completed benches along with the completed table next Thursday.

In the meantime, let me just share some freaking adorable pictures of my Bitsy...

Loving Pool Time

One of my all time favorites!!!

Post-nap CrAzY hair!!! 

Why do babies sleep like this?  How is this comfortable? 

Sweet potato fries and I SHUT MY MOUTH!
These are delicious Mama!

"Quit taking pictures and let's go for a walk already"! 

I never complain when she wants to cuddle.

She is not asleep.
She just decided this was a good spot to lay down and drink her bottle!

"Look Ma, I can walk up the wall"!

Teaching her young, the joys of cooking/baking .

Daddy taught her how to lay in the water to have her hair rinsed.
This backfired though when she decided she wanted to spend her whole bath time like this.
Silly HAPPY girl!

Sometimes Bitsy despises wearing clothes.
Dressed get pulled over her head in a fit of anger, but what do you do when You can't get a onesie off?
BITE IT!

My little lady.
She sits cross footed during all her meals.

Went to check on her about 15 minutes after putting her to bed...she had crawled to the corner and passed out.
So peaceful! 

Well, I hope these hold you over until next week!
Hopefully by then I will have 2 benches!
The week after that I'll show you a tutorial on how to make one of these:

Perfect for protecting your beautiful crib from situations like this

I hope you have a Blessed Thursday!

What We Did Wednesday- Recap

Hey Everyone!

Remember the dog we rescued?

 Yup that was him.

Last Wednesday I had filled you all in on how we came to have him in our home.

What I haven't had a chance to tell you is how that day was the last day we had him.

Bud stayed home most of that morning.

We found out that all the shelters here will keep the dog for 48 hours for the owner to claim and then they go to the adoption floor for 3 days.

3 DAYS!

That's hardly long enough if you ask me.

We couldn't risk sending this guy off only to be put down so we had decided we would make it our mission to place him somewhere safe.

 I can't stress enough how good he was with Bitsy.

So back to last Wednesday.

We got in touch with the no-kill shelter and they told us they were at full capacity.

They have 150 acres and currently had 500 dogs.

After being rejected by them, Bud took off to head to work.

5 minutes later I got an e-mail response from the no-kill shelter. 

Once they saw the picture of the dog we had emailed them they had a change of heart.

There were 2 stipulations though.

1st he had to pass a personality evaluation, no problem, I wasn't worried about that one bit.

2nd, since he wasn't fixed, we had to pay them $100 to cover his surgery.

Well we didn't really have $100 in the budget.

Our neighbor offered to give us $20 to help out and Bud was going to ask around at work for donations.

Before doing that though Bud decided to make a flyer to put at the local coffee shop and grocery store to see if anyone wanted him.

He arrived at the grocery store and asked if they had a community board.

They didn't, but a cashier had overheard him and came to see what he was 'selling'.

As soon as he told her he was trying to find a home for the dog, she said, "I'll take him, I just promised my son a dog yesterday"!

She told Bud that if he could go home and get the dog that her husband, who was off work that day, would be there in 20 minutes to pick him up.

That was that folks.  

I said goodbye to the dog and as far as we know he's doing well in his new home.

They have our number if for any reason it doesn't work out OR if they ever need a dog sitter.

He really was a GREAT dog.

What a happy ending don't you think?

 Our boys sure seemed a little happier to see him go.

I think they were tired of sharing all their stuff...old farts!

In other news....

A couple of weeks ago I came to you asking for prayer about our housing situation.

Bud called last week and asked if there was anyway the military housing could give us a date that we might be able to move.

They did.

OCTOBER 1st!

So now I am coming to you with a new prayer request.

Please pray that if this is the time we are supposed to move that God will provide someone to rent the house we are currently living in.

We signed a 2 year lease when we moved in, because we honestly didn't think we'd ever get housing (the time frame had gone from 6 months to 24 months back then).  

Now with the possibility of saving $250-350 a month we are hoping to move sooner rather than later.

If we can get someone to rent this house we will be released from our lease!

We could be moving in 1 month.

Our 3rd address in 14 months!

IF....we don't find someone by around September 20th we will pass on this base house and will most likely have to wait until January 1st when a huge lot of new homes are being opened in that military neighborhood.

We would still need to have someone agree to rent our home, so either way we are asking for prayer that God's will be done in this situation.

Just as the verse above says, "Ask and it will be given to you...," we asked and we know a house is ready for us.

".....seek and you will find," we are seeking for people who this house will meet their needs.

"....knock and the door will be opened to you,"I may be taking this a bit too literally, but I would love to knock on the door of that base house on October 1st and walk right in.

Thank you for all your prayers for the dog, thank you for all your prayers for our housing situation.

You all bless me in more ways than you know!

I hope you have a Blessed Wednesday!

Butterfinger Cookies

Cookies and candy bars.

2 things that in themselves are capable of satisfying my sweet tooth.

But combine them together and my sweet tooth is in sugary heaven!

**Fair warning brushing your teeth a few extra times while enjoying these cookies is advised, I don't want to get blamed by your dentist**

Here is What You'll Need:

-1 stick of butter at room temp

-1/2 cup sugar

-1/2 cup dark brown sugar

-1 large egg

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-1 1/4 cup flour

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1 cup crushed Butterfingers (approximately 12 fun sized bars)

Blend your butter and both sugars together.

Add your egg and vanilla and beat well.

In a separate bowl mix flour, salt, and baking soda.

Gradually pour them into your sugar mix and blend well.

Mix in your crushed candy bar and place in the fridge to cool for about half an hour.

Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper and preheat to 350º

Roll dough into 1" balls and place on sheet approximately 2-3" from each other.

The spread when they bake.

Place in oven for about 12 minutes.

Check after 10.

You may need to go up to 14 minutes depending on your stove.

When done carefully remove from parchment paper and place on wire rack to cool.

Once cool, ENJOY!
You may want to hide these.
They are so yummy that you may find yourself not wanting to share.
I don't blame you!
Do you have a favorite candy bar that you'd like to see turned into a cookie?
Let me know and I'll see what I can do!

I hope you have a Blessed Tuesday!

Baby Diaries #48

I feel like I just blinked and a month has passed already!

I'm not joking!

Literally yesterday I said to Bud, "Is tomorrow the 27th?"

When he responded, "Yes". 

I said, "That means Bitsy will be 11 months old, how is that possible!"

August has flown by ridiculously fast.

Bitsy is still weighing in at 26 pounds.

I can't wait until next months 1 year check-up to find out how tall she is.

Shortly after turning 10 months Bitsy started cruising the furniture like a pro.

Not only that, but she can now get herself down from a standing position!

That is a big deal.

Before she used to get pretty irritated when she couldn't get down, but now she can bend over and pick up stuff and return to standing!

The above picture is an example of what happens when we sing one of Bitsy's favorite tv songs.

This one is from Blue's Clues

It goes:

"Here's the mail,

it never fails,

it makes me want to wag my tail, 

when it comes I want to wail, 

M-A-I-L!!!!"

She claps and shouts during that song everytime.

This last month we started on some sleep training.

I really wanted to break Bitsy of her all night eating and I figured that since she had more than tripled her birth weight now was a good time.

Bud & I were guilty of rushing to her room each and every time she made a sound.

More often than not, us going in there was waking her more.

So we stopped rushing in and the first few nights we decided we wouldn't go in from the time she went to bed until mid-night.
(Thank you to a friend for suggesting this modified method, better to wean them then to cut them off cold turkey).

That went relatively easy.

Then we extended until 4am.

Again another relatively easy switch.

We have only had a few nights where she cried, but never for long.

Sometimes if she doesn't eat enough during the day, because she's too busy playing, she'll wake up between 4:30 and 5:30.

When that happens I will give her a bottle, I figure it can't be that bad for her to have a bottle for such a short period of time.

Most nights she will sleep from 6:30-7 and on a few occasions she's slept until 8 or 8:30!

It's so nice at night now, because Bud & I have time to watch tv or a movie or just relax together without jumping at every sigh or sound.
I also want to give credit to the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth.
It had some great information about how early to bed equals more sleep and late to bed equals less.
Bitsy is on a much better schedule now and everyone is happy.
Dinner at 5:30, bath time at 6, reading and cuddling at 6:15, bedtime at 6:30.
This works most nights, other nights she's in bed by 7pm.
And we totally understand that some nights it's okay if she goes to bed late or her routine is out of whack, as long as we get back to schedule the next day.

She has 5 teeth now and her other lateral incisor is well on it's way to cutting.

All these teeth are making it easier and easier for Bitsy to eat finger foods.

She eats yogurt bites, cereal bites, sweet potato fries, pieces of apple, blueberry Kashi waffles, and just recently string cheese.  

She loves her string cheese.

Oh!  And look what Daddy taught her to do this past weekend,

...yup....he got her to drink from a straw.  

She thinks it's the coolest thing ever!

This is Bitsy zoned out...

...ha ha ha!

Bitsy did run a little warm a few days this month.

One day she was 99.9º, but I knew it was nothing to worry about.

The next day she got to 101.7º, I was a little more concerned, but we gave her a tiny bit of tylenol and she's been fine ever since (it's been a week).

The only other main change that has occurred in the past month is that Bitsy is transitioning to 1 nap a day.

I didn't think it was time for that yet.

In fact only about 17% of little ones this age take only one nap a day.

I guess she is part of that 17%.

The good thing is that her 1 nap does tend to be between 3-4 hours so I guess I can't complain much.  

It's just crazy how much has happened in such a short period of time.

I love this little critter so much and I feel so blessed by her.

Next month will be her 1st birthday!

What kinds of gifts did you get for your little ones on their first birthdays?

I asked this question to all my Facebook Mommy friends and got a plethora of ideas, but I am always open to more ideas!

What gifts stood the stand of time?

I hope you all had a Blessed Monday!

Bad Girls of the Bible- Chapter 4 Bible Study

Welcome back!

If you are new, thanks for stopping by!

Last week we talked about Lot's wife.

Today I am going to focus on The Woman at the Well.

Chapter 4: The Woman at the Well

Picture that it's a hot summer day.  Not too hard to picture since summer is just now coming to a close and July was the hottest month in all the country in some 1400 months!
Your only way of quenching your thirst is to walk to the well and draw up water.
Our woman decides she is going to do this during the hottest part of the day.
The part of the day when most people avoid even being outside.
Why?
Because, no one likes her.
She is talked about for having been married a handful of times.
She is embarrassed to be seen.

Whatever, her reason may be she chose the perfect time to go to the well, albeit she didn't know that at the time.

Jesus was sitting by this well, his disciples were off finding food, and he sat waiting for the perfect moment.

Queue our woman, carrying a bucket.

He asks her to draw some water for him.

There are no introductions at this time, we never learn her name, but we know that He knows it.

Do you think that the omission of her name makes the story more or less true?

In my experience, when striking up a conversation with a stranger name exchanges may not occur until we part ways or not at all.

Friendly conversation with someone I may never meet again.

Sounds like something that would happen to me, so yes it feels more true.

Now we know that Jesus knew her name and about her husbands and her current lover, but can you imagine if he would have called out to her by name?

If it were me and a stranger called out my name I'd be thrown maybe concerned....less apt to stick around to see what else they knew about me.  

I think that's why he decided not to call her by name.

Our study guide asks us:

She came looking for water but instead found Jesus.  Was their meeting at the well a "coincidence"...or a "God-incidence"?  What leads you to this conclusion?

I am a big believer in what Liz Higgs calls a "God-incidence".  I believe he always means for these things to happen.  Why else would Jesus not go with the men to get food and per chance to run into a larger crowd he could speak to.  Instead he spoke with one woman and through her was able to reach many more.

WOW!

Wake up call to all of us.

God used one woman, one who people didn't think highly of, one who was older and of no stature.

We can all be used.

Read these verses and see what the Bible says about the our lives paths:

Job 31:4 Does he not see my ways and count my every step?

Proverbs 16:9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.

Jeremiah 10:23 LORD, I know that people's lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.

I find encouragement in these verses.

God has a plan for my life.

There is a common saying that goes something like this:

Man plans, God laughs.

It is so true, sometimes we allow ourselves to get so wrapped up in ourselves that we are blind to what is going on around us.  

I think that if Jesus had gone to the town with his disciples the people may not have even seen him for who he was, but because the Woman went....she caught them off guard and in turn pulled their attention.

WHAT LESSONS CAN WE LEARN FROM THE WOMAN AT THE WELL?

- 1 - Never Be afraid to ask questions

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." ~James 1:5

- 2 - Not lying isn't the same as telling the truth

"Then I acknowledge my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD." And you forgave me the guilt of my sin." ~Psalm 32:5

- 3 -  Thirst is a gift from God

"My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God?" ~Psalm 42:2

- 4 -  Water is meant to be shared not hoarded

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying the good news of God's grace." ~Acts 20:24

We know, by reading this story, that the Woman at the Well was not afraid to ask Jesus questions.

She was bold in some of her statements.

We do not need to be meek.

It is okay to be strong women.

It is okay to be bold women.

We can be both strong and bold when we put God first.

He will guide our words and actions so that they work best for him.

What's the most important lesson you've learned from this Woman?

For me it was:

Be Bold, but be cautious.

And GET EXCITED!

Once she tasted that living water she was excited.

She set down her jug and rushed to tell the good news.

I need to be more excited to share the good news with people I encounter.

I tend to save my testimonies for when I really need to relate to someone and show them that God will bring us through bad times, but I shouldn't wait for bad things to share with other.

I should share always!

How can you be like the Woman at the Well?

What jug are you carrying that may be slowing you down from drinking the living water?

Take a moment to stop what your doing and ask God to take that burdan from you.

To replace it with his love and grace.

Feel the weight lifted.

Feel the pep in your step return.

God is good and he has a plan for you.

Live it!

I hope you have enjoyed this time of study.

Please let me know if you would like to see something in particular in our discussions or if you have any questions.

I hope you have a Blessed Friday!

Flip Flop Fix

Quite sometime ago I got these flip-flops on clearance.

Like super cheap clearance.

They say they are my size, but that strap sure makes them feel a bit too tight.

What's a girl to do?

Re-purpose them I suppose!

First things first I flipped it over and cut off the knobs that held the strap in place.

This allowed for easy removal of said starp.

Next I cut two strips of fabric.

Each 2" wide and the length was the width of the fabric so approximately 44"

I didn't need all of it.

I cut another strip of fabric 4" wide and used a can of chicken broth to trace circles with.

I needed 10 of them.

I took my 2" wide strips, folded them in half, pretty side facing inward and sewed  them closed.

Using a safety pin I carefully flipped them right-side out.

Next, I ironed them flat.

I had to cut them after that one strip of fabric to run across the width of my foot (I cut 12"which left me extra to work with, depending on your foot you may need more or less).

The second piece was to run from between the toes to the existing band (I cut it 11" again yours may vary).

I folded and sewed the 11" strip so that I could have a pocket to pull my 12" strip through and create a "T".

Next I took one of my circles.

Folded it in half.

And then into thirds.

Starting at the top of my "T" I sewed one circle.

Then I added another under that one until all 5 were in place.

Next I pulled all my strips through the holes of the flip flop base.

I made sure it fit snug and then I tied knots to hold it in place.

I trimmed off any extra fabric.

Put a little hot glue around the knots....

....and Ta-Da!

New sandals!

How much fun is that.

The possibilities are endless and if I want to switch the fabric it's as easy as making another one!

So have you ever purchased sandals on clearance only to not be quite so thrilled once you got them home.

How did you handle it?

Refinish?

Give away?

Do tell!!!

I hope you have a Blessed Thursday!