Fashioned With a Tool

Not all of our "Golden Calves" look the same...but they are all equally offensive to God!

Some thoughts I've had after rereading the account of Aaron gathering the gold from the Israelites in order to make them a god in Exodus 32.

The Golden Calf was the result of...

Impatient people, tired of waiting on God, grumbled to have things their own way, and the leader left in charge.....caved!

When Moses comes down from the mountain after spending time with God he got this response from his brother:

Aaron tells Moses, "Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!"

Poof....Out popped a cow!

REALLY? Well it seemed like a well organized effort to me. They even planned a festival in honor of the "accidental cow"!

Exodus 32: 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. [c] Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

Just like that, no craftsmen, no planning, no involvement...just popped out all shiny and looking like a cow! So naturally, let's celebrate our sin...eat, drink and get up to indulge in revelry!

Do we do that? Do we make excuses to God? "I wasn't sinning, just opened my mouth and out popped this lie!" or "I didn't mean to have an affair, just drove by this place and fell into someone's bed!"...

Did you notice in the passage in verse 4 Aaron "fashioned it with a tool"?
Aaron skillfully planned this sin against God. He melted the precious metal, poured it in some sort of mold, artfully fashioned it with skill and thought.

What sin have you "Fashioned" instead of waiting for God to speak?

In Deut chapter 9 we see Moses' response to this horror...the golden calf...


HE BURNED IT

HE CRUSHED IT

HE THREW IT

HE MADE THEM DRINK IT...


Are we willing to completely destroy the idols/sins that are keeping us from obedience to God?

Just Thinkin',

Kathy

Prayer for Each Other

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Don't forget to send us your praises, encouraging encounters, life applications you've learned lately or just stop by and say hey to the other folks on A Gentle Answer. Post your pics of what God is up to in your life or if you are working on a project or need prayer let us know. This is a community desiring to encourage each other. Shout out to Our friends in The U.K. and Canada, thrilled to have you aboard.
If you like this site, Suggest our page to your Friends and keep sharing with us.
Have a great weekend.
By the way, "Cheers" to the funny friend that lists their primary language on this site as "PIRATE". I treasure each of you!

Kathy

Here are some of the folks request this week:

*We are praying for adoption situations...2 separate families.
*We have several friends with special needs children and school and change this time of year is often a challenge.
*We have a neck surgery in recovery.
*We have a dear sweet encourager that is physically challenged but spiritually strong.
*Some on this site have recently taken on new adventure (and ventures) and seek God's will in their work.

Thank you that you pray for each other. Some of you on this site do not hold to my Christian beliefs and I am thrilled that you take time to care about our site and check out my thoughts from time to time.

Continue to pray for all these requests...our God knows their names.

2nd Amendment: Freedom To Wear A Sundress

A friend recently commented that her two daughters (Freshman and a Senior) asked about some constitutional issues. The first daughter asked what was in the 2nd Amendment...the parents both said they were not exactly sure. The other daughter then said, "As Christians, shouldn't we know the 10 Amendments?" I told them the 2nd Amendment gave me the right to wear a sundress. It did, I have the right to BARE ARMS!

She has a point....well except the whole number issue!



Here's a peak...you look up the longer version if you, like me, have not read them since someone threatened you with a test over them in school!

YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM TO STILL LOOK THESE UP YOU KNOW!

27 Amendments

The US Constitution, recognized as the supreme and basic law upon which the framework of the US government is set, has been amended 27 times over the past 200 years. The first 10 amendments are collectively known as the 'Bill of Rights' and the other 17 are the subsequent amendments. Here's a detailed list of the 27 amendments to the US Constitution

There are twenty seven amendments (changes) to the US Constitution. One of them (the 21st) is simply the repeal of a different one (the 18th, prohibition).
Amendment I [Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition (1791)]
Amendment II [Right to Bear Arms (1791)]
Amendment III [Quartering of Troops (1791)]
Amendment IV [Search and Seizure (1791)]
Amendment V [Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process (1791)]
Amendment VI [Criminal Prosecutions - Jury Trial, Right to Confront and to Counsel (1791)]
Amendment VII [Common Law Suits - Jury Trial (1791)]
Amendment VIII [Excess Bail or Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment (1791)]
Amendment IX [Non-Enumerated Rights (1791)]
Amendment X [Rights Reserved to States (1791)]
Amendment XI [Suits Against a State (1795)]
Amendment XII [Election of President and Vice-President (1804)]
Amendment XIII [Abolition of Slavery (1865)]
Amendment XIV [Privileges and Immunities, Due Process, Equal Protection, Apportionment of Representatives, Civil War Disqualification and Debt (1868)]
Amendment XV [Rights Not to Be Denied on Account of Race (1870)]
Amendment XVI [Income Tax (1913)]
Amendment XVII [Election of Senators (1913)
Amendment XVIII [Prohibition (1919)]
Amendment XIX [Women's Right to Vote (1920)
Amendment XX [Presidential Term and Succession (1933)]
Amendment XXI [Repeal of Prohibition (1933)]
Amendment XXII [Two Term Limit on President (1951)]
Amendment XXIII [Presidential Vote in D.C. (1961)]
Amendment XXIV [Poll Tax (1964)]
Amendment XXV [Presidential Succession (1967)]
Amendment XXVI [Right to Vote at Age 18 (1971)]
Amendment XXVII [Compensation of Members of Congress (1992)]

The amendments that were proposed but were not ratified are Article 1 of the original Bill of Rights, Child Labor Amendment, District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment, the Corwin Amendment, the Titles of Nobility Amendment. Of the 27 amendments to the US constitution, only 26 amendments are in effect as the 21st amendment repeals the 18th amendment.

THERE.......Don't you feel smarter!

Just Thinkin',

Kathy

Planks and Specks

It's always easy to spot someone else's mistakes. Let's work on rotten wood removal today...I'll start with the log in my eye. You?

Luke 6:42 How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

See if you can spot the typos in these actual church announcements:

*22 members were present at the church meeting held at the home of Mrs. Marsha Crutchfield last evening. Mrs. Crutchfield and Mrs. Rankin sang a duet, The Lord Knows Why.


*The choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir.

* At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?". Come early and listen to our choir practice.


*The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment.

* A song fest was hell at the Methodist church Wednesday.


*Today's Sermon: How Much Can a Man Drink? with hymns from a full choir.


*Hymn: "I Love Thee My Ford."


*Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again" giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.


Just Gigglin',

Kathy

Tiny Strangers Came To Our House

(WARNING) Although no animals were harmed in the making of this post, many run-on sentences and rules of grammar were abused. You will also find one potty mouth word we don't say at our house in the caption...send complaints to: kathy@lightenupandgetagrip.com because IT WAS FUNNY!



Psalm127:3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

They make you sign a form you know!? At the hospital, before they send the security guard and a nurse to make sure the car seat contraption is facing the right way...BACKWARDS! You have to sign a form saying you are responsible...for the child person, tiny stranger you are taking home. And the car seat manual alone nearly killed us. Anything involving the words, armpit, handle, harness, clip and lock and load should not involve the security of your baby.

That's how Richard and I felt driving away from the hospital with this little tiny stranger in the car seat with us going home the first day all alone almost 24 years ago...no nurse, no manual, no idea...no kidding...BACKWARDS!

And then...we start to fall in love with the tiny stranger that came to our house.

And eventually, you fall more deeply in love with each other during the lessons we learn together as parents. So...cut to mushy love scene...aren't we blessed...9 months later...we brought another one home...and another...and then a fourth and... (Stop judging me).

So here I am in the role of mom, writing on the Monday after Mother's Day, sitting in a quiet house as one has graduated from college (the first stranger we strapped backwards in the car seat 23 years ago)and is living in another city, one still away in college and two here still in our care off to school this morning.

I'm thinking back over the gifts I have received on Mother's Day over the past 23 years. I'm not talking about the actual gift of flowers, chocolates, a day to myself or jewelry which my husband always made sure I received that accompanied the children's gifts; I'm recalling the most heartfelt original gifts from a toddler to a middle school child. You know the ones... sticky hugs, breakfast in bed consisting of a pack of white small powdered doughnuts and a juice box, a broken yo-yo and a Spiderman action figure with one leg missing wrapped up with a sisters hair bow, various projects well meaning teachers helped my child construct using pipe cleaners and a hand-print and I'm "strongly"-I mean "fondly" remembering one fine smelling "Perfume by the Quart" from Drug Stores'R'Us. Good memories.

In keeping with my natural ability to move forward and not have a critical spirit (hey, it's my story I can imagine) I don't think I often dwell on the bad and the ugly. I try to focus on the good, however, I obviously remember some of the difficult moments of parenting like endless nights sleeping on a sheet on the floor with a sick child because it was easier to reach the vomit bucket if you were in the same room. Or I try not to dwell on the fact unnamed child number 3 stabbed me in in the rear end with a steak knife by tripping over the welcome mat in the kitchen while unloading the dishwasher when he was only eight, or going to unnamed child number 1's Kindergarten school counselor who summoned me to discuss said child's anger issues (yes the counselor had taken a class that summer) because he cut a nice fringe into the hem of a Sesame Street rain coat from the dress up clothes box during recess-which by the way was very nicely and artfully done. Or perhaps I would never think to recall which child used my husbands silver coin collection to buy the pizza when the babysitter couldn't find the check we left on the counter. You see, pondering these difficult elements of motherhood never cross my mind because of the joy that overfloweth in my hearteth about noweth.
Okay so I'm not poetic, but would never tell you all the secret moments of hurt, or disappointment at the risk of embarrassing my children or creating another reason why they will need extensive therapy in their 30's.

So instead... Take note...I will name them this time...not the offenses the children silly,
Let me introduce you to my children:

Meet Jacob-Jacob you are the first tiny stranger we brought home. You then came home from school at age 10 after a week of being bullied on the bus by a neighbor for wearing dorky shoes. I was ready to grab some super glue for the kids mouth and hand cuffs for his hands that hurt you...you walked in and said, "Momma, Daniel needs me to tell Him about Jesus because someone has to." And you quickly went into your room and gathered part of the contents of your Easter Basket and made a small gift sack and took it to Daniel, and you prayed for him that night. You are a gifted artist and thinker. Your grasp of history fascinates me. Where I love to study the bible, you can actually explain to me the history of who, what, where, when and why a verse was written in it's context. Smarty Pants...you are wise. You grew in stature and character to the man you are today and I am proud to call you my son and my friend, even though you had to explain to me that "Hermeneutics" was not Herman Munsters ugly brother.

Meet Kaylee-the child who never went to buy a treat without making sure everyone at home also had something even if it meant ultimately not having enough money to get yourself something. You always packed an extra lunch on field trips in case another kid forgot theirs. You figure out a smart way to do almost anything you try to accomplish whether at school, in sports, at work or in any leadership task you undertake. You spent your free time during High School helping special needs kids in Owasso and Ponca City because you profoundly came home from a track meet with 6 medals and said, "Some kids can't do what I can do and I don't even do my best. I should never take for granted what I am able to do again." And so you pushed wheelchairs so kids could play TOP SOCCER and you were their legs. You mentored the EXCEPTIONAL students class and gave up a lot of your personal social life because of that. You have a wonderful work ethic at school and work and your employers benefit from this. You are kind, and pretty, and thoughtful and I don't have enough words to say all God has taught me from being your mother.
You are precious to us and I love you. You are my only daughter and my friend.

Meet Joshua-the Gentle Giant. You were not always 6'1" and "hulk-like" you know. You had a rough start. But God's grace and medical miracles have helped you to overcome a lot of hurdles and you have grown in mind, body and soul. All along the path of your life we have watched you grab all the information you can drink in and process with that amazing brain of yours resulting in the most wonderful thoughts and ideas. You have a keen sense of observation and are interested in almost everything you see from sharks to stock markets you can't get enough details. You also have a keen sense of justice and the gift of mercy and you use both well. I remember when you were 7 and we were in downtown Tulsa having just finished a big meal after church. We were driving on a one way street and you yelled, "Daddy--stop the truck and take off your belt!". We don't normally let 7 years olds dictate to us but your voice was filled with a sense of purpose. Daddy did stop the truck and you pointed at a man who was dirty, thin, a bit scary looking- who was walking and holding his pants up with one hand and trying to push a basket with the other. Your dad shared his belt...you gave him your take home box of food that you were too busy to eat in the restaurant. His name was Anthony. You my son are Beautiful(and the scar from the knife wound in my rear is not that noticeable now anyway)and I treasure you.

Meet Jason-you are really a walking glue stick you know. You gave our family a special bond that can never dissolve. You see, we are all madly in love with you.
Watching your brothers and sister hold you in the hospital was one of the most precious memories this mom has. You know you are Jacob's "Mini Me" and although you think he helped hang the moon...He also thinks you did too. You have always been inquisitive of the things of God. This has made for some very fascinating conversations with you. Because you were born into a family that loves God's word, by default you had the theme song to every teaching ministry on Bott Radio memorized by the time you were 3. Now lest some radical person reads this and thinks Christian's brain wash their children (and we proudly do) Jason, I just want to say, you have a mind of your own and when the Holy Spirit moved in your young life you chose to listen with or without your families influence. I remember changing a light bulb in your room in this very house. The bulb broke but most of it was still in the socket leaving a very jagged edge to deal with. I could not get it to move and I audibly said, "I hope I don't cut myself" to which you said, "Just a minute". You left the room, came back in about 30 seconds and declared, "It's okay, go ahead, you will not get cut. I asked God to protect you so He promises to do that!"
Wow...your faith keeps teaching me. I did get that silly light bulb out with ease too. Even last week when you over heard us talking about having all of our money stolen from our checking account your faith taught me something. You brought a piece of paper with a numbered list which covered the entire front and back of the page. You said,"Mom, what else can you think of that has happened to us that seems bad?" You had written most everything I could think of. I asked you why and you said, "I was going to wad them up and throw them away in the trash...but I decided to just fold them and give them to God instead." And I found the list folded in my bible today.
You my son are a teacher. And I love you and I really really like you!

Jesse-I don't know you well enough to introduce you but I'm hoping the people that read this will know Jesus as their Lord and get to meet you someday. Having you in our life for even a short time and learning to let go of you taught me to trust more than you will ever know.
I love you.

Well...I hope you have enjoyed meeting my children. Even if you are not a parent, and even if you are not married, I hope you will take God's instruction for us to pray for the next generation seriously. Tiny strangers came to our house, and now some of them can already Vote!



Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Psalm 78:4
We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.

Joel 1:3
Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.

(His statutes)Deuteronomy 11:19
Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Here's to all the Kid's in the world...so that covers everyone! Happy day after Mother's Day!

Just Thinkin',

Kathy
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