My Delightful Journal

  How many friends do you have on Facebook? How many groups are you in? How many times does someone's profile pop up to click "Add Friend" with 1 or 2 mutual friends and you think, "Should I know them?"? Mark Zuckerberg would not agree with me; but your 400, 800, or 1,700 friends on Facebook are not all your real friends. You may be very careful with whom you allow to view your life for safety or privacy purposes. But still, it's seemingly impossible to have that many friends. They may be family members, acquaintances, old school mates. They're not the people who know you inside and outside. They don't all "have your back." And, most importantly, not all of them will give you Biblical truth and spiritual edification.  But do we often run to these online companions for comfort, reassurance, advice, and hope? Does the loose social media term "friend" really mean what it says? A few questions I have to ask myself... When I'm face

This post contains affiliate links, in which I earn a small commission at no cost to you. So thank you for looking, shopping, and sharing! <3  I've followed Crystal Paine ( The Money Saving Mom ) since Aaron and I have been married. She has great tips for living on a low budget, and we needed that when we were first married. So she always intrigued me.  Her oldest kids are only teenagers, so she never claims to know everything about parenting. I appreciate her fresh approach to parenting and coming strictly from the heart. She shares some of the background of her legalist mindset as a new mom and equates that into how it affected her parenting style.  I find that fascinating because it's a temptation for anyone to want to hear, "Hey, you raised some good kids" or "Congrats on your son's/daughter's accomplishments." But is   that the goal of parenting? Is raising "good kids" to be "good adults" the pinpointed accomplishment? It&

 I like to get from Point A to Point B in about 30 seconds. I like outcomes and success stories. Yes, sometimes I even peek at the end of a book to see what's going to happen.  Blame it on my impatience, maybe. I don't like the journey from one thing to another unless I somehow know exactly how it will end - And I only know that if I use enough of my imagination to convince myself what I think will happen.  God has an aerial view of each of our lives (Matthew 10:29-30) and all of history.  Not only is He aware but He controls. I find gracious comfort in His sovereignty in my life (Ephesians 1:11) and over all of life (Colossians 1:16-17).  The ground isn't that pretty. I am a goal-oriented person. I like check marks and cross offs. I may or may not put "Make coffee" on my to-do list, so that I can cross it off. 😏My head is always downward trying to do some mundane task that gets me nowhere.  I create a long-term goal, then complete the small goals to get to the b