Thinking Good About Him

I read this post today from the GirlTalk blog and it really encouraged me. I have a long way to go, but the Lord is gracious and good.

October 24, 2008
Thinking Good About Him
As wives, we frequently face situations where we are tempted to think harsh and critical thoughts about our husbands. Sometimes we are more inclined to concentrate on what our husbands are doing wrong than what they are doing right. We are more aware of their deficiencies than areas where they excel. But if we submit to these temptations they will only dampen any desire to do them good.

In her book Love Has a Price Tag, Elisabeth Elliot includes some very good counsel from her husband for wives:

“A wife, if she is very generous, may allow that her husband lives up to perhaps eighty percent of her expectations. There is always the other twenty percent that she would like to change, and she may chip away at it for the whole of their married life without reducing it by very much. She may, on the other hand, simply decide to enjoy the eighty percent, and both of them will be happy.”

The apostle Paul understood the influence of people’s thoughts and feelings on their behavior. He exhorted the Philippians in this way: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worth of praise, think about these things” (Phil 4:8).

As we choose to focus on our husbands’ many commendable qualities—to enjoy the “eighty percent”, we’ll be amazed. We’ll grow in our eagerness to encourage, serve and love them—to do them good all our days.

Posted by Carolyn Mahaney on October 24, 2008 at 04:08 PM in Marriage Permalink

American Girl Dolls enjoy Easter

Natalie is still enjoying her American Girl dolls and I am encouraging it as long as it lasts. Most girls her age would think this is childish, but she doesn't and I am glad. She had a lot of fun getting them ready for Easter.

Rocket Launch

On Saturday, Tim and Nathan spent about 2 hours building a rocket to launch. They worked very diligently and well together. Tim lets Nathan do a lot and Nathan understands what he can't do. I think Tim is having as much fun as Nathan - maybe more. I am glad they have this that they can do together and enjoy one another's company. We did launch the rocket; however, it was never recovered. They look for a while to try and find out to relaunch it, but no luck. Tim thinks it burned up in the air. The next project is one that goes 2,000 feet up. That should be interesting.

Menu for the week

Here is my menu for this week. Tonight I was going to have spaghetti, but a friend surprised us with lasagna.

Monday - Lasagna from a friend

Tuesday - Tacos

Wednesday - Eat out

Thursday - Steaks with veggie/potatoes

Friday - Good Friday Service at church - Hamburgers

Saturday - Maybe pizza

Natalie turned 12...

Pictures from Natalie's Birthday

Natalie and her cousin, Shelby at

American Girl in Dallas

Trip to Dallas

Last Thursday Natalie and I left for a trip to Dallas, TX to visit the American Girl Store. Also, along for the ride was my sister, her 2 girls, my mom and Tim's mom. We made our first stop in Sulphur Springs, TX and spent the night. On Friday, we arrived in Dallas around 11 a.m. and the girls were dying to get to American Girl. They were all amazed and so excited. We let them just look around and take it all in that day. Natalie's 2 dolls, Kit and Kirsten did visit the beauty salon to have Kirsten's hair done and Kit's ears pierced. They looked around to get some ideas as to what to buy. We then back to the hotel to give them some time to swim. On Saturday morning, they were up bright and early and ready to go again. Natalie decided to buy a third doll with her birthday money. She bought Ruthie, Kit's best friend. Also, she got 2 outfits and 2 pairs of shoes. After this we had lunch in the American Girl Bistro. The waiters came out to sing happy birthday to all the girls and gave them a brownie. It was a lot of fun seeing Natalie enjoy something she has wanted for a long time. I figured my time was running short, since she will 13 next year. I will post some pictures later. If you have a girl, this is definetly the place to take them. I wish they had this when I was a young girl.

Science Fair update

Last Thursday, March 12th was our school science fair. Both of the kids had a project to do this year. Natalie chose to take 3 of the same plant, but water them differently (amount and when). Nathan chose to test whether or not graphite in a pencil was a conductor of electricity. They had to prepare their science boards with all the normal info - problem, hypothesis, photos, research, charts, conclusion, etc. And they did a great job. At the parent night last week, Natalie discovered that she placed 2nd overall for the 6th grade. Nathan however did not place this year and was devastated. He is the one that loves science and just knew he would place. This was a good lesson for him in how to lose graciously. It was still hard watching him being so disappointed. We are sure next year it will be an amazing project. Natalie will get to present her project to the Bauxite School Board in April and then go to the district science fair in Arkadelphia in May. She is excited, but was very shocked at how well she did.