Monday Morning Randomness

"Date night" ideas from the comments - kidswap (Mrs. Maker), home date (The Wagner Family)...

I have friends who do kidswap once per month. Couple #1 goes out, dad of couple #2 stays home with his kids, mom of couple #2 goes over and watches #1's kids. That way everyone gets to bed on time. Works for them!

I've heard of at home dates before, but never quite how The Wagner Family does it. This could also work for those couples who are struggling to find time to really talk to one another throughout the week. Just a bit of kid training involved to get it going.

Other, "cheaper" date night ideas: coffee shop, browse at local bookstore, cheap theatre, wander the shopping mall together, do grocery shopping together. And, when the kids get old enough to leave at home for short periods of time - a great idea from some friends of ours - don't just pay the oldest for babysitting. Pay everyone for being good! A mom I know has 3 kids, ages 12, 10, 7. She pays each kids $2 for behaving while they're out. If anyone doesn't behave, that child must pay his/her $2 to the others.

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Words I've been chewing on thanks to Beth Moore's study, Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy.

[People today] believe in so much of everything that one would be hard-pressed to tell if [they] believe in anything. (pp. 11)
When I encounter others, can they tell what I believe in?

One of God's most serious charges against His people was the abuse of His temple. (pp. 15)
My body is His temple - have I been guarding it or abusing it?

Whether or not we are conscious of it, you and I are daily being indoctrinated and "trained" by our culture. (pp. 20)
What habits am I picking up from this culture that I need to get rid of?

Satan never wastes a fiery dart by aiming at a spot covered by armor. The bull's-eye is located dead center in our inconsistency. (pp. 25)
What area of my faith and commitment to God am I most inconsistent in?

Rule for victorious living: when the stakes are high, bow down low. (pp. 37)
Sounds simple, so why is it so hard to remember?

Image building is any way we intentionally make ourselves seem different - and usually more - than we really are. The inspiration for building and image doesn't come from the Spirit. (pp. 49)
I pray that I can be the same person in the privacy of my own home that I am on Sunday mornings, the same person with telemarketers and door-to-door canvassers that I am at Bible study.

Nursing inferiority can be just as self-consuming as seeking superiority. Constantly thinking little of ourselves is still thinking constantly of ourselves. (pp. 52-53)
False humility is kinda like wrapping pride up in another package. Lord, guard my heart!

Sometimes we don't recognize ourselves until we judge another and hear the Holy Spirit resound within our hearts, "You are that person!" (pp. 87)
Ouch!

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I need groceries. My house is in desperate need of some TLC. And all I want to do is sit around, drink coffee, and lurk on facebook (which is, fortunately, locked up tightly for Lent). I should also really think about fitting some daily exercise into my routine.

Tough decisions...

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In a couple weeks, I will be starting an online class/mentoring program called BLAST (Building Leaders, Authors, Speakers & Teachers) with Shannon Ethridge. I am excited and nervous all at once!