Picket Fences
The timing of my finally sitting down to read these two chapters is all His! After a week of feeling under attack…for my husband and I not seeing eye-to-eye on things….to read the chapter Picket Fences and have this quote “Perhaps you don’t even bother moving towards others, because in doing so you put yourself at risk.”
The pencil story….A little girl has to choose between a set of pretty princess pencils or an educational activity book. As a child I think I would hands down choose the pencils. I wasn’t the ‘pleaser’ I am today. Today…say I had to choose between a hand held cheese grater or the offered on sale at Sear’s food processor that The Principal was offering as an early Christmas present…I would say I don’t need it, it’s too much (it really was a good deal) and I would walk out of the store so as not be there at check out feeling guilty for the money spent. I would have chosen the hand held cheese grater…you know, IF this were a true story.Ahem.
“Even thought the bible says I am saved not by works but by faith, I still believe deep down that God is more accepting of those who perform well and do the right things than He is of those who do not”
The paragraph where Emily talks about the mom who is wanting her prodigal daughter to come home and says what a testimony she will have…Emily says “does it mean our testimony is un-awesome”
Those of us with testimonies of redemption from abortion, infidelity, or addictions….WOULD GIVE OUR RIGHT HAND to NOT have that testimony….I shouldn’t say those of us…ME….BUT As long as I GIVE HIM THE GLORY and USE IT FOR GOOD! Then ok….this was His plan! I have been freed!
I am SAVED! and FORGIVEN!
OK true story. E bought me a Cuisinart food processor for Christmas one year early in our marriage. It was expensive and we had Christmas for 4 kids to take care of on a VERY low income, but he wanted me to have a food processor. I didn’t think we needed it. The guilt over the expense hit me so hard I actually took the thing back to the store, unused. Five years later, I bought one, on a Black Friday sale using some Bon Dollars I had plus some cash. I love it. I have had it almost 10 years and it gets used almost daily. Best money I ever spent. But I could have kept the one he bought me before.
I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t accept your husband’s gift, but sometimes they like to spoil us a little and even when I didn’t feel like I deserved a gift that expensive, or even that I needed it, he was SO DISAPPOINTED when I took it back… and it turns out that now that I have one, it’s the most useful tool in my kitchen. Being a pleaser sometimes isn’t the issue but more of a question of worthiness. I didn’t feel worthy of a gift like that. From the man who pledged his life to me. Ouch.
it’s sitting in the box in my kitchen…I haven’t opened it…haven’t returned it either….I think he took the receipt.
Oh my… your story hits home. I’ve so been there. Josh wanting to buy me something but me thinking it was too expensive or I didn’t need it. I struggle with giving him ideas for Christmas every year.
By the way, he bought me a food processor for Mother’s Day two years ago and it is used multiple times a week. I felt like it was too much money, but I knew I’d use it. I felt bad at first, but it really is one of the most used, well-loved gifts ever.
Still in the box. Sitting there.
Make the Principal happy… Go open that box and make something with it for dinner 🙂 I dare you!