Girl Scout Cookies

Ah, it is that time of year again!  Every year I promise myself that I will never tackle the craziness of selling another Girl Scout cookie.  I vow that Noodle Poodle can live without an extra patch or the little trinkets that can be earned "if you sell just a few more boxes."   I declare I can make it through the whole cookie sales season without devouring 2 or 3 boxes myself.  Every year, I fail at these attempts.

Yes.  Thin Mints, Trefoils, and Tagalongs have once again taken over our house by the case fulls. 

Next year is going to be different.  From now on, I will turn down the need to earn the cookie patch for my daughter.  I will rebuke the temptation to satisfy my desire for the sweet, delicious, wonderful tasting Samoas.  I will be strong.  Yup, I promise!

Whosoever Believes!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
"....God is Love."  1 John 4:8
 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."  John 13:34
"....Let us not therefore judge one another any more" Romans 14:13

I try to live my life by these verses.  I am raising my children to live their lives by these verses.  Have I failed to adhere to verse 3 & 4 in my life?  Yes, on many occasions.  I will undoubtedly fail on following these verses many times, before my life on Earth is done.

I am not perfect, I have never been perfect, nor will I ever be perfect as long as I live on this earth.  My only perfection is  found in the blood the perfect lamb shed for me some 2,000 + years ago.  Through his blood being applied to my heart, I have been adopted into God's family and I will be welcomed into his Kingdom to live for all eternity.  I can only praise the sweet name of Jesus for such an awesome gift he has given me!  Anything else I could try to offer would be in vain, as I do not  have anything to offer him that is not already his.  He created everything in this world.  "Ah!" you may say "He did not create the automobile, running water, sliced bread, etc. etc."  Perhaps not in a worldly view, however he did create the materials used for these things and he gave knowledge to those inventors to create them.

I recently had an encounter with a man whom told me there would be only one of the Christian denominations deemed holy enough to enter into Heaven.  According to this man, the rest of us are going to hell.  Hmmmmm.....    At first I was beyond angry that someone could utter such blasphemous words.  Jesus came to save all, and will save all that believe in him!   After my temper cooled down some (yes, I admit I have a temper.  This is only one of my many imperfections.  It's something I have to pray about almost on a daily basis.)  so back to where I was.  After my temper cooled down, I was then hurt and I mean literally my heart ached  that someone could say that to another human.   If they say these things to another Christian, what in the world do they say to someone who is lost and seeking their help?  I discussed this with some of my fellow Christian friends (via a Facebook status update and several comments) they were just as amazed as I was.

This is called false doctrine.  This shows that not all Christians know exactly what they are talking about.  Does this make this man any less of a Christian than I?  No.  He simply has been deceived as to the extent of God's love for mankind.  Keep in mind, I do not hold a doctorate in religion and I do not claim to know all there is to know.  I learn more every day.  However, I do know for a fact that Jesus will save anyone that asks him to.  Salvation is that simple.  

ABC's of Salvation

 A: Admit you are a sinner. 

 B: Believe Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins. 

C:  Call on him to save you.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation as I found myself in,  I pray you will not allow such lies to discourage your faith in God's ability to save all who come to him.  On a similar note: If you find yourself faced with those that claim to be Christians only to spew hate, please remember only God can judge us.  Our lives are between him and us individually.  We all are sinners.  There was only one perfect man that ever lived and his name is Jesus.  Also please remember: God is Love.

Mountain Momma's Mountain Wisdom

~Common sense is a very useful friend.~

1. Tend to the weeds in your own backyard and you'll be to busy to notice the ones in your neighbors yard.

2.  If a dog will bite you once, it'll bite you again.

3. If you hang out your dirty laundry for all to see, you are asking for unwanted comments on your stained clothes.

4. Snakes can hide in the prettiest field of flowers, be cautious.

5. You've only got one head, having a second face on it is unattractive.

6. You have to tend to your garden from day one, you can't wait for the crops to rotten then try to straighten it  back out.

7. A strong tree will bend with the wind, not allow the wind to break it.

8. When you eat up all of a person's sweet talk, you may end up with cavities.

9. Be willing to go down fighting for the things you stand for. 

10. Always know the way home, no matter how far you roam.

Just What a Good Mommma Does

One thing about a momma, we love to share every little thing in our children's lives.  That is right up till the day they tell us they are no longer babies and for us to mind our own business.  As for now I have yet to reach that day, therefore I share every happy or sad moment.  I share every giggly blushing crush on a new boy.  I share every tear when a friend says something mean.  I share every squeal of happiness when an insect comes into sight.  I share every moment of temper tantrums when things don't go as expected.  I also get to share the germs brought in from school and other child friendly places.  Being the good momma I am, I gladly share their ups and downs alongside with the viruses, colds, and stomach bugs.  This is just a part of motherly love. 

By the way, as I type this I am sick, sick, sick!  Ah, the joys of motherhood.  ;-)

Young Female Celebrity Loses My Respect

 While surfing the net last night I saw some things about a certain young singer/actress whom my daughter once adored.   I understand that when you reach a certain age, you want to test the waters and find yourself.  I understand being a young person is hard and I'm sure being in the spotlight at such a young age is a tremendous amount of stress.  However, when you become a celebrity you have signed on for that life in the spotlight.  When you have thousands of little girls looking up to you as a role model you have an obligation to maintain somewhat of a respectful reputation.  If you decide to have a wild night or two, it's your life do as you want... however for the love of Pete: DO NOT pose for your friends to take pictures.  Learn from your past mistakes of doing that... and perhaps get a few new friends.  I can only pray my child will not run across the pictures I saw on the web of this "party cake."  I watch Noodle Poodle closely while she's on the web and we have parental locks, however I can't control what her friends see or what they share with their smart phones, etc.

The Voice

Noodle Poodle and I enjoy watching television in the evenings together.  Our favorites of course  usually are chick shows.  It's our girl time.   Last night and tonight we watched "The Voice."  We didn't watch it last season and now I wish we had!  It is awesome!

The Super Bowl

I am the first to admit, I am not much of a football fan.  My husband on the other hand, is a football nut.  Any given game, I am either playing with the kids or sitting with my laptop playing games.  That is, except last night.  I only watched the last minute of it.  Even I, with my limited knowledge of the game found that last part intense.  I was very impressed with how well and classy Eli Manning answered the reporters question about the house his brother built.  Poor guy, that had to have been insulting to have just won the super bowl and then be compared to your brother.  I guess in the future I may look up from my laptop a bit more.