Confessions of an Internet Junkie!

I’ll shamelessly admit it. I have a Myspace, a Facebook, and even a AIM instant message account.

Here’s why.

Some of my younger teens wanted to have a Myspace. So, I decided to check it out for myself.

The positives:

· I’ve learned more about my kids (even my grown ones!) and their friends than I would have ever known otherwise.
· I’ve been able to stay in touch with my friends on a different level than e-mail or phone.
· I’ve “met” some really great people from my church and other groups because of the technology
· It’s a fun way to communicate with my children, even the ones living in the same house!

The negatives:

· Some of the advertising on Myspace is unprincipled
· It can take quite a bit of time.

So far, the positives outweigh the negatives.

My Myspace

Facebook

AIM – robinlmeadows


Do you have Facebook, Myspace or AIM? Sign up for yours today, then send me a friend request!

Transplant

You’ve blown it. It’s been a horrible day, the kids have been extra-disobedient, everything has gotten on your nerves and you finally lost it. You yelled at them, or your husband, and maybe even said some things you wished you could take back. Maybe, you think, they’d even be better off without you.

Guess what? You’re not a bad person. In fact, you’re quite normal.

But, you might consider a heart transplant.

In heart transplant surgery, when the surgeon removes the old, diseased heart, he replaces it with a newer, but cold and lifeless heart. He begins his work and about 30 minutes later, takes the patient off the pump that has been keeping them alive and tests the series of stitches he has just made. Then, he places the patient back on the pump and continues to stitch the remaining arteries. After about an hour, the surgeon removes the patient from the pump again, removes a final clamp, and watches as blood fills the heart, turning it a bright, vibrant red. Life! Because life is where the blood flows.

A person whose life was fading quickly away now awakens to a new hope. A future.

Not, however, without challenges. The patient will forever be on a strict regimen of a dozen medications a day, designed to force the body to accept the new organ.

And here’s another amazing thing. Heart transplant patients are guaranteed they will never physically feel heart pain again. When a heart is transplanted, all the nerve endings leading to it are severed. It is impossible to reattach those nerve endings. If they have another heart attack, they won’t even feel it.

Now, think about it. We have a Great Physician who is just waiting for our permission to give us a “heart transplant”. In fact, He says we can have a new heart every day! It doesn’t take a few hours to perform the transplant; it happens the moment we make the choice to have that new heart. We trade our worn, lifeless, blackened heart for one that is flowing with the lifeblood of the One who went before us to take every burden we would ever have. And the nerve endings are severed! He took our pain as well.

Today, trade in your tired, hurting heart for a transplant. And keep it healthy and alive with a strict regimen of reading, believing, and walking in His Truth.

Lamentations 3:23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Ezekial 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

When Crickets Cry

This is absolutely one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I read a LOT! Charles Martin is a master craftsman of words. His descriptions and word choices are nothing less than poetic. Sub-titled “A Novel of the Heart”, the book actually is about the human heart. Martin will pull you into the lives of his characters, and you will learn much about the heart, its physical makeup as well as its emotions.

Tomorrow, I’ll share with you some things I learned about the heart!

AND/OR

Read the blog Craig Groeschel wrote on Swerve yesterday. It’s something we all need to think about.


"Do you remember the cartoon with the song… “Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?” (Sorry to date myself like that.)
I’m going to offer one conjunction change that could drastically improve your ministry (or marriage, or family, or school, or whatever).

Most people say “AND” most of the time.
We should learn to say “OR” most of the time.

Instead of…
We can do a singles ministry, AND counseling ministry, AND a sports ministry, AND missions, AND Divorce Care, AND a puppet ministry, AND a quilting ministry, AND a ministry for people with more than five pets…

You can say…
We can do this… OR that… and do it well. We probably can’t do it all. Let’s focus on what God is calling us to do.

The same is true in our families. Many families say “AND” so often they rarely see each other.
Think about your family, your ministry, your schedule, your relationship with God…
Where have you been saying “AND” when you should be saying “OR?” "


Knowing your family’s vision will enable you to know when to say “no” to those ‘ands’. Does what you want to add contribute to that vision, or will it take away from what God has called you to accomplish together? This provides a great opportunity to share with your children why your family chooses NOT to do everything that you could!

Well, it’s October, and already officially fall, but we’re still experiencing some very warm days. Soon, the temperatures will begin to drop and cooler weather is a time that we begin enjoying soup!

Here is a recipe that’s easy and can be prepared quickly. Also, it’s easy to keep ingredients on hand. I sometimes call it “Can Soup”. We make it often, (with variations) in the fall and winter. Keep these ingredients ready in your pantry to make a quick, high-fiber meal for your family on a cool fall evening.


Taco Soup

1 can Ranch Beans
1 can black beans (rinsed)
1 can corn
1 can white or yellow hominy (optional)
1 can Rotel tomatoes or enchilada sauce
1 zip-lock pre-cooked ground beef (or about 3 cups browned/drained ground beef)
water as needed for the consistency you want

Warm up and serve over brown rice or with tortilla chips.

Variations:

Any beans will work
The hominy adds a nice “meaty” texture—try it!
Any canned tomatoes or tomato sauce will work in place of the Rotel or enchilada sauce.. Add chili powder and cumin 2:1 to season.
Chicken would be good in this, too. Or try it meatless!

Add more cans to increase the volume according to the servings you need to make.

Let me know what you think!

Less Stress!

I’m all about simplicity and no stress! Here are a few things that have helped me through the years.

· have nap times and regular bed times (for your children AND you, if needed!)

· advance preparation for meals and academic lessons

· oldest gets “shotgun”—this has always worked best for our family. I didn’t have to remember whose turn it was! And everyone gets a chance for front seat, eventually.

· nothing is ever divided evenly---not gifts, not privileges, not even time (more on this later)

*give yourself plenty of grace and mercy-- When it’s just not working, take a break. Tell your child, “I just can’t do this anymore right now. Let’s step away from this and come back a little bit later.” (It might be tomorrow, it MIGHT be next week!)


What are some things that make your life less stressful?

Lasting Effects # 4

WORK ETHIC

Wikipedia says, “Work ethic is a set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character. A work ethic may include being reliable, having initiative or maintaining social skills.”

Sounds like a great thing to teach our children!

I’m not sure if it just happened because there was so much to do around the Meadows’ household, or if it’s something that we really believed in when we began teaching our children, but our kids have grown up knowing how to work. They are really hard workers!

And they’ve reaped blessings in the form of supervisor and managerial positions at an early age. Erin, a dance company director at 20, and a studio manager at 21. Andrew, a shop foreman at 21. Ali, a Super Cuts manager at 19. Anna, an associate youth pastor at 20. Katie had her pharmacy tech license at age 18. We’ll see what happens with the next two, but Kody (almost 15) and Jacob (13) already work with their dad and are able to put in a hard day’s work.

Teach your children to do household chores while they are still very young. Teach them that with maturity comes responsibility. You, and they, will be glad you did when they are older!