A Defensive Post, in Retaliation to (you know who you are!)

Recently I overheard a friend ranting about blogs (I say overheard, because even though I think I was an intended member of her audience, I was carrying on another conversation on the side). Anyway, my friend, the first one was saying how they (blogs) are all alike and they are just a place for moms to talk about their kids and share details of their SAHM lives with each other. (Forgive her, she is not a SAHM and therefore doesn't relate at all). I was however, as you can imagine, outraged! Obviously she had never visited this blog.
I am not as good with the camera as many of my fellow blogging mom friends are and have such a bad memory with the cute kid stories that when my husband comes home, I find myself telling him how funny the kids were that day and that in particular there were a few "new" phrases, words or sentences that my two year old used so hysterically that he would die if he knew what they were. Fortunately for him, I don't remember what they are and isn't he lucky to have such an attentive and thoughtful wife who spares him from having to nightly DIE of amusement from his hysterical children, who are growing up, learning and changing every day behind his back, while he goes to work so that I can drag the kids to target when I'm bored and it's raining (often) and impulsively over buy under priced items.
Even if I were as good with the camera as many of you are, the food I make is rarely worth taking a picture of, though usually delicious and who wants to read about delicious food without a picture? Or who wants to read about delicious food with a gross picture (see above)?
In addition to these faults, lies the real truth to my whacked out blog. I am much too selfish to waste limitless blog space on others when I could be indulging myself with disillusions of grandeur in which you all are desperate to read what's rolling around in my head!

Let's Talk...Gossip

Now that I have your attention, I figure this is as good of a time as any to talk about our speech and everyday chit chat that we encounter. When I say we, I really do mean WE (myself included). As I write I am processing some things that have been rolling around in my head for awhile. Let me be clear on a couple of things. #1 I am NOT writing to any one in particular more than I am to myself, so if you read this and think I'm writing this because of YOU (you know who you are j/k) I'm not. #2 I AM guilty of gossip. I realize that is probably not a shock to most of you, but I want you to know that I know that. #3 I am writing to Christians, those who acknowledge they are sinners and have accepted Jesus as their much needed personal Saviour. This conversation is for those who are striving to "go their way and sin no more" according to a biblical standard not because we are better than non-believers but because we aim to not grieve the Spirit of Christ by whom we are saved. Okay, everyone on board?
I like this picture because it's not inherently evil looking. Which I think is true of alot of gossip that we encounter and that's why it sneaks in so easily and can be hard to identify. Also, it was really hard to find a gossip image that looked like true gossip. Our culture doesn't readily attach a negative connotation to gossip. It's glorified and sought after. It's almost synonymous with talking! To start our discussion, here are some scriptures that portray gossip as wrong and exemplify why:

"A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret." (Proverbs 11:13)
"A perverse man stirs up dissension and a gossip separates close friends." (Proverbs 16:28)
"A gossip betrays a confidence so avoid a man who talks too much." (Proverbs 20:19)
"Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down." (Proverbs 26:20)

Now let me share the verse that started the wheels rolling on this subject for me. "And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they out not. Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully." (1 Timothy 5:13-14) The idea that Paul is writing about here is that it's good for a young widow to marry and be occupied with having kids and running the house so that she isn't doing the aforementioned idleness, wandering, gossiping, etc. Perhaps some of us have found a way to "do it all"?
Of course I'm not saying that getting together with other moms during the day is wrong. But let's be aware of the potential for gossip and idleness that comes from going "from house to house" and let's be sure to keep our homes from becoming a breeding ground for such. "Therefore, putting away lying, each one speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another." (Ephesians 4:25)
I like what it says in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 "That you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded you." I think this is a good guide for conversation when you find yourself with a girlfriend..."mind your own business" meaning not talking about someone else's business, especially if they are not present.
The lines can seem so fuzzy and gray as far as what's appropriate to talk about. Here are some questions I would ask when in doubt. If there is information that you are tempted to share with someone else, how do you happen to know this information? Are you 100% sure it's reliable to start with? Is it privileged information? Does the subject (person) of the information know that you know? Do they even know who you are? Even if that person shared it with you, would they want you to share it with whomever you deem worthy of the information? Would they like the privilege of sharing that information with someone new? Do you follow me here? These types of questions could go on and on.
Also when talking about a particular subject, having kids, discipling, preschool, homeschooling, potty training, etc. it's easy to draw comparisons and use mutual acquaintances as examples of doing something a certain way. This can go downhill pretty fast. We can start judging each other for personal choices. "That must cost them $X amount a month!" "And oh, what about so and so's kids..." 2 Timothy 2:23 says "But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife."
Another form of gossip is not so fuzzy or gray but rather blatant. Still I don't know why at the time it doesn't hit me as gossip, maybe because I'm thinking that I'm being a good, sympathetic listener or something. But I'll tell you when it hits me that I received an earful. When I see someone or a couple in church that I have never spoken to, they don't know me, but I know WAY more than I should about them, or at least I think I know some stuff that causes me to sit there and think, "Oh...Hmmm...that's who..oh, okay...I see." THIS IS WAY WRONG OF ME!!! Proverbs 18:8 AND 26:22 both say "The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts." So we'll forget a really good sermon after a day or even a few hours, but the words of a gossip? "They go down to a man's inmost parts."
Why do we feel the need to gossip, really? Is it that we like to be the first to break big news, or appear like we are in the know? The ironic thing is that all we're really doing is telling the person we're talking to that we are a gossip and can't be trusted! Let's remember that love covers over a multitude of sin-it doesn't pass it on. Here's where I want your feedback. How do you lovingly tell someone that they are gossiping and that you don't want to hear it without appearing "holier than thou"? 2 Timothy 2:16 says "But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness." How do you do that gently? More often than not, the person you are talking to is your friend after all!
The only thing I can think of is to do the exact opposite of what that person is doing and speak words of life. Let us not forget the power that our words have not only to cause harm, but to do good. The bible speaks of this in particular as well:

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Proverbs 18:21)
"The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them." (Proverbs 12:6)
"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit." (Proverbs 15:4)

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." Ephesians 4:29 Let's start a trend of speaking what is good and imparting grace to our hearers! What do you say?

Cookin' up Cuteness

I have an apron that I think we got as a wedding present, which I don't love, but wear occasionally. Charley loves to wear it though of course because I wear it. Recently I came across some cute vintage style aprons that looked super easy to make-when I say this, I mean super easy for someone else to make...someone with a sewing machine. After picking out the fabric I followed Devlyn's suggestion and decided this lucky person was going to be...(drum roll please)...my mother-in-law! I don't know if you can see the detail but she took some creative liberty and embroidered little chicks on the pockets, a cute personal touch. Thank you Barb!
Charley also found her little rolling pin and wanted to trade with me-notice she's looking at me to see how I'm holding mine. And believe it or not, she still prefers to wear my chick apron over hers...that's my little mini-me!

Mocha-Latte's and Diamonds Don't Mix

Now, hold on. If you're like me, an avid espresso loving, coffee drinking, bean grinding, true Northwesterner, I know what you're thinking (cause you're like me) and we'll get there, oh believe me I've got your back on this one!
It seems that there are some non-coffee drinkers among us. Which is fine, to each their own. I'm not into forcing (wasting) good espresso on people who don't appreciate it. However, when these same folks start addressing us, as if they are one of us and throwing around the term mocha-latte, I have a problem. Besides the fact that it just grates on my nerves to hear someone say mocha-latte (for you non coffee drinkers who don't do this, there is no such drink!! There's a Mocha and there's a Latte) the context of them using it is usually something like this, "If you just give up your daily mocha-latte, you could save xyz, or you could afford xyz..."
Recently I heard this term used in just such context. It was in an ad on the radio by a well known business owner with a very distinctive voice...I don't remember which station but you can hear him on almost ALL of them I'm sure. I won't tell you exactly who it was, but I have a pretty good idea where you can find him Monday-Friday till 8, Saturday and Sunday till 5. As if that that's not enough of a hint, I can tell you that after hearing this ad, I didn't feel like making any friends in the diamond business.
The jist of the ad was that, guys if you're thinking of buying an engagement ring but are worried about the cost of a nice ring, well he (this unnamed business owner) did the math and if you gave up your daily gourmet mocha-latte for a year, you'd have enough to buy a very decent ring for your (PATIENT) girlfriend. Now, I say let's think about this scenario a little bit deeper. What am I really hearing when I listen to this ad? Something like this, "guys, if you're addicted to espresso and you're thinking of buying an engagement ring for your girlfriend, why don't you listen to a finance program put together by a non-coffee drinker who obviously doesn't have those crazy love chemicals running rampidly through his brain on top of the daily caffeine overload, because he seems to think that waiting a whole year to propose AND abstaining from espresso this entire year is going to have a happy ending.
Well, I propose that the ending would look something like this..."A very desperate, cranky guy walks into a jewelry store and throws down $1,095 and freaks out when he sees his very decent engagement ring, because well, it's just not big enough and shiny enough to win back his, well his estranged girlfriend.
I think maybe non-coffee drinkers shouldn't interfere with the bond/addiction between us and our espresso. We don't ask that they understand, just that they stop asking us to give up our daily mocha-lattes!

Nursery Rhymes

I am going to take a minute to record some of the darling little things Charley says/has said, especially when singing nursery rhymes. I try not to do too many cutesy little posts that few people beyond the grandparents would want to read, but everyone says to write this stuff down or you'll forget. So I figure this is as good of a place as any to do so.
So...

"Lemon bridges falling down, falling down, falling down, lemon bridges falling down, my friend lady!"

"Itchy, itchy pider..."

"Ba, ba black sheep, happy many wool! Yes sir, yes sir, three bags four!"

"Patty cake, patty cake, you're my man, bake me a cake as fast as you can!" (She's bossing her man around already!)

"Deedle, deedle dumpling my son John, went to bed with his trousers on. One foot off and one foot on, deedle, deedle dumpling my son John!"

"Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb...whose face was white as snow!"

And of course, her own spin on the old alphabet song, which seems to be her favorite thing to sing (next to Baby Beluga, which I may just have to film and post her singing that one in order to do it justice).

"Abcdefg...LellowMinnowPee...xyz no one knows their abc's, next time won't you sing wif me!"