Not Just Obeying, But Keeping

Well, if it isn't the baby, it's the dog.  There must be a raccoon or skunk running around in front of his crate because around 3:45 am today, he started barking.....then it stops.....then it starts.  It's enough to make me wish I owned a shotgun.  Probably shouldn't say that, but it's true!  At 5 am, I gave up, took a shower, made some coffee and here I am!  At least it is getting light out earlier and everything is beautiful and green.  Where we live on the Niagara Escarpment, it gives the impression you are high up in the mountains and out our front window the view is breathtaking in the morning as the sun comes up right before my eyes....so beautiful.

Beans and rice is going swimmingly except for a little gas here and there!  Last night it was lentil vegetable/tomato stew.  A very simple recipe that had a few strips of bacon as a starter, again, just for a little more flavour.  Typically I would use a whole pack, but last night, half a pack, sauteed with onions.  Then I added every leftover vegetable I could find in the fridge which included celery, cauliflower, frozen peas...there wasn't a lot leftover!  Then after cooking that for a bit to soften it, I added 2 cups of lentils, 2 cans of stewed tomatoes and filled the rest of the large pot with water.  To the water I added salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and curry powder....just kind of guessing amounts.  It simmered for an hour or so and then I turned it down to low for a bit.  It was awesome!  Everyone had second bowls.

Tonight?  Not sure, but it'll be leftover soup for lunch and perhaps more chick peas for a snack with vegetables and hummus.  No one is starving yet!  Next week will be more of a challenge as anyone can do a week, but a month?

My second son is our bread maker.  We finally purchased a mill and are now milling our own flour.  I really thought that was going to be a way harder deal than it is.  It literally only takes a few minutes.  A friend or two have passed on their favourite recipes and we're sticking with what they know.  So far so good!  I also bought some pre-milled flour ages ago in massive quantities, so again, no more buying bread until that flour is all used up - that'll save us a lot, too as so often I buy in bulk, but get so easily tempted to get the store bought bread in a pinch.  Meanwhile the flour I bought with good intentions just sits there getting moldy.  Not good.

Today will be a busy day as our oldest daughter is off to a photography tradeshow while the older boys and their dad will head off to the final Bible Quizzing tournament where they will meet up with her later.  They have memorized the entire book of Romans!  It absolutely boggles my mind.  It is a two day tournament.  Is it bad to say that I'll be glad when it is over?  No joke, they still get in trouble for only focusing on memorizing.  How am I supposed to get after them for that?  Stop memorizing and do your school - all you do is memorize Scripture!  Doesn't sound right, does it?

We've been going through Kevin Swanson's book on Proverbs.  It seems all this memorizing will bode them well in the future.  He makes an interesting distinction in Proverbs 3:1 where the Bible says, "My son, forget not my law, but let your heart keep my commandments:  For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to you."  He talks about how the word "keep" is different than the word "obey" while most people think it means the same thing.  It in fact does not.  He says, "To keep the commandment is to pay attention to them, to take them into account, or to care enough for the commandments to incorporate them into your life." Obeying can be done with a good heart, but it can also be done with a cold heart.  If you are keeping them, then you are truly loving them.  Have you heard the illustration where the mother asks her son to sit down instead of jumping around the room?  He responds to her, after many scoldings, "Fine.  I'll sit down, but inside I'm standing up!"  That's what I mean by obeying on the outside, but inside having a cold heart.  That boy is not keeping the commandments, just obeying.

A great starting point to keeping the commandments is to know them at the very least.  I'm so grateful for all the memorizing they've done as that is how they will begin to keep God's commands.  Putting it into practice? That is a whole other matter, but for now the groundwork is being laid as they learn what the commandments are.  Hopefully the keeping part will follow.......