Crazy Mama

No deep thoughts for the day. Just working away in my own personal lunatic asylum :-)

The Least of My Brethren

" ... Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

... Verily I say unto you, In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. "

Excerpts from Matthew 25:34-46

I’ve read this many times before, and I’ve also heard it in sermons. Yet, like most things, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before. I’ve thought of it as maybe the scruffy guy on the street corner or perhaps that person asking for gas money in the supermarket parking lot. Even as the person in our church who I decided was a "weaker member". This may have some truth, but today, right now, we can apply Luther’s idea of vocation and neighbor. Where am I and who am I with?

I am at home, I am with my two children. Oddly enough, one is mostly naked (but that diaper should come off and a new one put on) and both are hungry. One has a runny nose and my husband needs a coffee. Hmm. Fulfilling God’s commands don’t always lead us to far a way places. Sometimes they lead me back to the place I am living in and place value back on the people nearest.

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Maybe one translation of the above scripture could be:

"When my knee was skinned, you bandaged it, when I was hungry you fed me, when my clothes were dirty you washed them, when I was thirsty you gave me a bottle."

Here's To Good Diapering

Not just for puddings and gravies.

                                 

Since we're on the subject, here's another tip for the diaper area.

Once in a while your baby's bottom is raw and maybe even bleeding in spots. Ouch. Very painful. Your baby screams if you try to put ointment on it--because it HURTS. It's futile anyway, because no ointment will stick to those raw spots. When one of my babies was in agony like this, someone told me that cornstarch would dry out that raw skin. It's true!  It's painless, and dries up the skin very quickly.  Hint: I got one of these shakers, filled it with cornstarch, and kept it on my changing table. Perfect.

                                         

                               To good diapering.  Bottoms Up!

                                      

The Best Diaper Rash Treatment Ever

Works better than every other medicated rash cream I've ever bought for my babies.

Mother, Meet Attila

"Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little Barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late."               Thomas Sowell

No wonder child training can feel like a war sometimes.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galations 6:9

Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates. Proverbs 31:31

Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with you. Deuteronomy 31:6

But what about ME?

The great truth is that we exist for our functions, not our functions for us. God has given me a purpose and a destiny. He’s placed me in a situation. I was not put here to "get myself happy", but to serve in my role – my God given role. It’s somebody else’s job to look after me. The vocations of mother, wife, and daughter take up all of my time. God has provided a husband for me, part of whose vocation it is to care for me. I am here to fulfill the role of mother.

When I’m taking care of the two precious daughters the Lord has entrusted to me I don’t have time to waste thinking about myself. Yes, I fall back into worry plenty of times, but before I get too deep into it there is always another dirty diaper to change or empty belly to feed, driving me, once again, out of my mind into the world of my little neighbors. Through my hands flow God’s gifts to my children.

Happy Mother's Day

"The best thing in married life, for the sake of which everything ought to be suffered and done,

is the fact that God gives children and commands us to bring them up to serve Him.

To do this is the noblest and most precious work on earth, because nothing may be done

which pleases God more than saving souls.  If the need were to arise, all of us should be ready to die 

in order to bring a soul to God.  So you see how rich in good works the estate of marriage is.

God lays souls into the lap of married people, souls begotten from their own body, 

on which they may practice all Christian works.  For when they teach their children the Gospel, 

parents are certainly their apostles, bishops, and ministers."

Martin Luther, What Luther Says, #2836

A Toast to Mother

(This is also an encouraging read for the day: Celebrating Mother's Day, Luther-style.)