Contentment Part Three: Finding Joy In Our Unique Circumstances

We took the kids to the park for baseball and a picnic on Sunday morning.  Me and baby Kynthia took the picture!

Hebrews 13:5  "Let your conduct be without covetousness;  be content with such things as you have.  For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.' "

This is one that I don't feel like I deal with so much at this time in my life, though I've definitely dealt with it before!  I honestly can't think of anything that I covet.  Yay!!  This is a welcome reprieve for me in this series on Contentment!  Monday, I talked about worry---that was a convicting one.  However, yesterday's discussion on complaining was the big whammy!  It sounds like that one made an impression on others, as well, since I got a lot of feedback about it!

Anyway, back to coveting.

Mom taught me that the grass is not always greener on the other side, and it didn't take much life experience to prove that to be true!  With other people's "stuff" comes other people's junk.  I think the main reason why I don't deal with a covetous spirit very often is because I've come to realize that God uniquely made me to be able to handle/enjoy the blessings and trials that are in my own life.

The circumstances of my own situation dictate what sorts of things will be beneficial for me.  I don't have designer clothes like some because I have a new baby every year who would spit up on them and stain them! (I couldn't fit into them anyway since I'm always pregnant or recovering!)  However, I do have a lot of cute maternity things, as well as the ability to design and sew my own clothing, so I don't feel like I'm always donning a shapeless parachute!

I don't have a fancy sports car---because what I need is a 15-passenger van.  I don't have a sprawling mansion---because what I can manage is a modest, 4-bedroom home in town.  I haven't been blessed with extraordinary beauty and a flawless figure---because I have a personality that desires attention and the Lord knows that wouldn't be beneficial to me or my marriage!

I don't struggle very often with discontent in the area of greed because I am peaceful and happy in the life God has given me!  I know that God will never leave me nor forsake me---therefore, I can be content in knowing that he is working out the perfect set of blessings for my unique circumstances!

Did you miss Part One on Worry??  How about Part Two on Complaining?  Check them out and be blessed!

Linking with:
Loving Our Children Tuesday at Teaching What Is Good 

This article was written for the 61st edition of The Christian Home Magazine.  Check it out and be blessed!

Contentment Part One: Finding Contentment Instead of Worrying

A peaceful place near Wallowa Lake in Eastern Oregon

Contentment:  an uncomplaining acceptance of my currently unchangeable circumstances

Worry and anxiety cause discontent in our lives.  If we are anxious about our current state in life: husband's job, medical issues, children's disobedience, we miss seeing the good ways that God is providing for us and sustaining us.

Matthew 6:25, 34
  "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink;  nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about it's own things.  Sufficient for the day is it's own trouble."

In most cases, there's nothing we can do to fix our problems on our own.  When we turn our worry into contentment, we are in a better frame of mind to see the true magnitude of an issue and hear God's direction on how to deal with it.

We've heard that God will supply all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Futhermore, 1Timothy 6:6-8 reminds us "Now godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, an it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content."

If we put aside our worry that we will not have the basics we need to sustain our lives, (food, water, shelter) we can begin to focus on our other anxieties ans see that everything else is an issue of trusting in God an being content with his plan.

Do you have a rebellious daughter?  What else can you do but pray for help and follow God's leading?  God's answer will be better than anything you can come up with on your own, so be content while he works it out.

Is your financial peace buried deep in unmanageable debt? All you can do is seek God's direction and follow his steps to get out of it.  Be content while he works out the process.

Matthew makes a good point when he writes, "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" (6:27)

We've got nothing to gain by giving into anxiety.  In fact, it's a major hindrance to finding peace and accepting the place God has us in for today.

What are some ways in which you practice giving your worries to God and being content where you are?

This article was written for The Christian Home magazine, Issue 59.  Check it out for lots of great articles from other talented Christian authors!

Homemaking Link Up Weekend: Vintage Woodland Cookie Jar

Ok, true confessions:  Anyone who read my Thursday post knows that I have come in here, changed some stuff up and am REPOSTING it as my Homemaking Link Up Weekend post!!  My husband has a night free of college assignments and has invited me to watch our old favorite, Stargate SG-1 with him!!  How can I resist?  Bad blogger?  Maybe.  Bad wife?  Nope, not at all!

So...please link up your homemaking-related posts below and have a VERY lovely weekend!

To be honest, I bought this vintage woodland-themed cookie jar from a yard sale last month so I could resell it!  However, while I was preparing it for a photo shoot this morning, my sweet kids saw it and fell in love.  Please Mommy!!!  Ok...we'll keep it.  Besides, it matches my blog!

My 12-year-old daughter informed me at dinner, after I'd handed her a warm cookie from the new jar, that we are now like normal families because we have a cookie jar!

Did I say a warm cookie from the jar?  That's right!  This thick, ceramic container kept our cookies warm for over 5 hours!

My family has requested that I start making more "old-fashioned homemade" meals, so I've begun scouring my great-grandma's cookbooks and recipe boxes for some new-old things to make!  I knew that since we now had a cookie jar, I'd need to fill it with cookies, so I looked for a cookie recipe in this 1926 Cook Book from the Mothers' Club in Burns, Oregon.  Our Baker family ancestors started a ranch there in the mid-1850s and there are still Baker boys running it today!

Robert, Clyde, Nina, Martha, and Jim Baker Silver Creek, Oregon c. 1905

I made these Oatmeal Cookies just how the recipe states, except I used shortening instead of lard and added raisins.  There are no baking times or temps anywhere in this book, so I figured I'd bake them at 350 until they smelled done.  They're great!

The thing that intrigued me about this recipe was that it was sweetened with corn syrup only.  They were nowhere near as sweet as my regular recipe, but they were sweet enough---the raisins helped with that.  I didn't even notice until I'd picked them out that they were submitted by Mrs. J. T. Baker.  Hmmm....I wonder how she's related???

I'm having a lot of fun playing around with older recipes!  Do you have a favorite meal that your mother or grandmother made when you were younger?  I'd love to hear about it!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Also linking with:

Katherine's Corner: Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
The Rookie Seamstress: {What is it?} Wednesday