Yesterday was a good day. Had a great quiet time with Jesus, which started my day off right. Went to the store to pick up ribs to cook for today - only found that once again, Frys was totally out of the pork short ribs. I decided to pick up the baby back ribs and will cut those up and use those. The others are easier to work with, but didn't want to run all over the place trying to find ribs. Since we are not going to the daughter's until late afternoon, I won't start them until late morning. I sear the ribs on a grill, then put in a pan and bake - I feel it gives them more taste and tenderness. I've had some that were boiled then grilled, and it just didn't seem to have much flavor. But - it's my taste buds that feel that way. :-)
Happy New Year! We ended the year with a nice steak dinner (we got a gift of Omaha Steaks from hubby's brother and SIL) that I cooked, then watched a couple movies before heading to bed around 10PM. Naw, we don't sit up to watch the ball drop. Since Dick Clark passed, the quality and entertainment of it has fallen way short. We don't waste the time. I think we both slept well and got up about 4:30AM this morning to begin our day. I have an 8AM gym training this morning so will need to stop soon to get dressed and out of here.
I worked all afternoon on the message for Sunday at the RV Church. I think the message spoke to me as much as I want it to speak to the congregation. It's about making choices. We all make a lot of dumb choices, do you agree? We 'give in' and do things because our peers challenge us, or we don't want to appear 'self-righteous' or don't want to just say no - we give in and do (and say!) dumb things. Why do we do that? Because we aren't asking God what we should do - and listen to what He tells us. One of the stories I'm using is about a young man named Sam. He was a rugby player, healthy and strong. At 19 he and some of his friends were drinking and daring each other to do things. A slug was seen crawling over the sidewalk. They were daring each other to eat the slug. What one doesn't think about during a dare - especially about this slug - is what had it crawled through. Sam decided he would take the dare and he picked up the slug and ate it while his friends cheered him on. Eight days later Sam started having medical issues, becoming paralyzed. Taken to the doctor they ran all kinds of tests but could find nothing wrong - until he told his mom about the slug eating. The doctors immediately started testing and found out he had some rat lung disease because the slug had slithered through rat droppings before being seen and eaten. Sam went into a coma. He came out of it, but it damaged him for the remaining 8 years of his life. All because he had been drinking and took a stupid dare. One of his friends said he wished that he had been the one who had stopped him from doing it. A life wasted, because of a stupid choice.
How many times do we make stupid choices and then have to suffer the consequences of them? We choose to do what we want to do and what we think is right - without seeking God and without seeking the advice of those who are wiser than us. I've done it. I'm not perfect by any means. I make wrong choices. And so do you. By God's grace, He sometimes saves us from the consequences of our mistakes - and other times He allows us to go through them, so that we will learn not to do that. Agree?
Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT): Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!
We don't always stop to think about the choices we make will affect others. How parents treat their children will find their children (possibly) treating their children the same. I've mentioned before about being beaten with hairbrushes, belts, hands, and wooden spoons as I was growing up. No, I really wasn't that bad; but the stepfather didn't like us disagreeing with him. (One night I said 'blooey' to him because he told me I had to do something - he threw me against the wall). So yes, because I had been 'whipped' with a wooden spoon, I did use it on my children when they were younger. I didn't know any different. Until my lovely DIL showed me how to discipline a child by talking with them; not yelling at them; not using violence against them. I didn't beat my children - and it only took one time that the spoon hit the wrong area that I vowed I wouldn't use it again. Choices. We all have them, but we don't always think about the consequences.
We have a job. We decide to sleep in. Heck with the job that morning. We lose the job. Consequences. You hear gossip about someone. You share it around, even if you know it isn't true. You get confronted by the truth by the person you are talking about. You deal with the consequences of losing a friend. You run out in traffic - more than likely you will get hit by a vehicle - you suffer the consequences. You spend money you don't have and get over your head in debt. Consequences. We all have choices.
So what choices do you need to make this first day of January, 2025? Will you choose life, so that consequences don't just happen to you, but to your descendants as well? What is that saying - 'Daddy (or Mommy), watch where you are walking, for little ones are following in your footsteps.'
We have a new year, a new month, a new day. What choice will we make today so that we and our descendants might live?
Blessings!
