Towards the end of Spring Break a week and a half ago I told Brooks, I NEED SOMETHING BIG accomplished so I have something to SHOW for my Spring Break week!!!
I think it's a common feeling among moms..... we clean, we cook, we launder but unless we have something like "oh, today was productive because I switched out the summer/winter clothes of the kids" or "I took a meal to ______" or "I deep cleaned the bathroom" it's hard to feel like the day was super productive........orrrrrrrrrrr, maybe it's just me.
Anyway, our old backyard was so so so bad. It was COVERED in ivy, bamboo shoots, weeds and plants everywhere. (our personal little rainforest). It attracted mosquitos like crazy, so in one day the whole family tackled this back yard and now its cleared. (I REALIZE it probably still looks ghetto, but now at least the kids can play in the stream/bridge thing when it rains. And see my beautiful grass coming up?!!?!
Okay, so fastforward 4 days and Camden started getting this rash all over his face, belly, arms, etc. It was UGLY and itchy. We knew it was poison ivy stuff and just assumed it was from the backyard. (that we had never really gone into since we moved here). Two days later, I started getting it....all over my belly, one arm and my chest, neck and my face. (trust me, I STILL look like a 14 boy w/ acne). Now IRIS has it on her face as of yesterday.....UGH! We're talking SO SO itchy folks. This is almost 2 weeks since we cleared the backyard too!!!!
I kept looking and looking in the backyard for the ivy or leaves of 3 and couldn't find anything!!!!!!
Then yesterday, I found this:
Check out that little plant under the big bush above.
But this little plant is in our FRONT yard......right under the basketball hoop(used everyday w/o fail), where we mow, play, weed, climb trees, etc. I doesn't look ANYTHING like the picture I saw of poison oak online. Then I saw another picture and it looked completely different. Then another version of poison oak. That's weird.
I did some research and found out that poison oak will take on MANY shapes depending on it's environment. If it's next to a plant w/ rounded leaves, it can take on that shape. If it's next to a pointed plant, it can adapt and take on that shape. Pretty sneaky if you ask me. The "Leaves of 3" is the giveaway though.
I started thinking that this is EXACTLY what Satan does.
He's sneaky.
He tries to come in where WE are, blend in around places we already ARE and GO.
For example, we never went in our backyard. Poison ivy there wouldn't have effected us. But the poison oak that got us was when we were running after an airball (me), or picking flowers by the bush (Iris, or swinging on the vines above (Camden).
Satan tries to sneak in our homes where we ARE anyway through commercials, internet ads, magazines and much more. Think about the last time you were reading something on the internet and the thoughts came into your mind, "I'm not a good parent because I didn't do ______ with my kids", or "I definitely don't look like HER", or "It's easier to sit on this computer and be 'productive' then go be with my kids", etc, etc. Satan WILL put those not-good-enough feelings in your mind in the comfort of your own HOME!!!
My boys will look at espn.com sometimes and heaven help me w/ some of those ads!!!!! They don't need to be seeing junk like that or women objectified like that! I have to go through our magazines first before ANYONE looks at them just to make sure there is nothing ELSE coming into my house w/o my consent. And we don't even HAVE tv!!!! It could be a lot worse I'm sure.
Satan wants us NOT to be content, feel lazy, not respect ourselves and bodies, feel worthless and join the worldly train.
It is NOT Heavenly Father's way.
ANYTIME I read the scriptures or listen to modern church leaders speak I only feel a sense of worth, love, comfort and that Someone else is aware of ME and more importantly, my children (because they ARE His too).
So after discovering this physical intruder to my little Garden of Eden (my home)
I've been reminded to spray/cut down and force the SPIRITUAL intruder out of my home as well.
"GET THE HENCE SATAN!"
Now to go find me some more Benedryl Cream.........
2 comments:
Very profound. I always love your thoughts, because you always teach deep things so simply. ^_^
I can't help much with the magazines, but you CAN add ad-blockers to your browser to keep any and all ads away from impressionable young minds. I have this one: http://adblockplus.org/en/chrome. I'd suggest getting Chrome if you don't already have it, but they also have a Firefox version. Internet Explorer is the WORST and also the most vulnerable. Neither Chrome or Firefox cost any money, and neither does AdBlock Plus; I've been using Chrome + AdBlock Plus for about a year now and I have no ads. None. Zilch. No popups, either, except the ones I choose to click on on sites I visit (like for my bank). Trust me, it will revolutionize your life. And it will get rid of those annoying ads that play before YouTube content, too. ^__^
You are always inspiring. :) I love the symbolism! Hope you guys feel better!
I loved the circus post! My favorite is when you capture individual personalities like that. Your kids are so fun and that is an awesome piece of advice... I think I will "forget" money at things like that, too, because I sure don't want some cheap glow thing that will cost $20 and stop glowing after 5 seconds.
Aleeya's grin is the best!
I bet people think... Wow! She has 4 kids! She is such a good mom! How does she do it?? Littlle do they know... There are 7! It's so funny to think about.
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