Stephanie’s Musings

          It’s been about a month since my last post. It is about time for me to say, “Ok. NOW I’m going to start posting regularly. This is For Real this time.” And, maybe, just maybe, it isn’t time for you to roll your eyes and say, “Yeah, right.”

          Then again, maybe there is no one left to respond at all. I’m certainly not giving you anything interesting to read. I want to. I want to write things that are interesting and helpful, that make you want to visit my site often. Really. That is my plan. I’m just having trouble implementing it. (Duh. Pretty obvious, isn’t it?)

          Typical of me. I have an idea, a dream and I step out to accomplish it. Suddenly it is too big for me. Too much for me to accomplish. I’m not sure if it because I don’t consider all the variables or if I take on too much at once or expect greater perfection than I can deliver or . . .

          Whatever the reason, I’m here again, saying I think I’ve a plan.

          I have many interests in my life, many areas where I think I have something to share, many articles or snippets of articles I’ve written on so many subjects.
         

• I am knowledgeable in the Bible and in living a Scriptural life.
• I have 17 years of homeschooling experience, with some very definite opinions and insights.
• I have interest and expertise of various levels in scrapbooking, needlework, cooking, writing and more.

          All I need to do is wander through my multiple computer files of articles, devotions, letters and more. There is a wealth of opinions and thoughts to be mined. If I’ll just edit them a bit, they will make a multitude of short, interesting, helpful blog posts.

          As I said before, I’ll be experimenting with schedules, so at first my posts will probably seem a bit hodgepodge. Eventually, I’m sure I’ll fall into a routine (rut?) and a schedule will present itself. For now, enjoy the eclectic mix of my interests.

          Really. Believe me. This time will be For Real.

          I’m wife, mother, cook, nurse, confidant and more. All these aspects of my life have grown me, enriched in ways I only barely comprehend. I want to share that with others. That is my reason for this website. To share what I’ve learned, what I’ve experienced and maybe help others through similar times.

          Then I doubt myself. After all, what makes my words of wisdom so special? Why would others want to read me? I am not a pushy person. I don’t go up to people, even people I know well, and force my opinions on them. On the other hand, I’m thrilled when friends want to listen to me, when they are encouraged by my words. Maybe there are others out there who want to hear what I have to say. And those who don’t can click away. So I will heed this compulsion to share. I will grab this opportunity, throw my words out there and maybe someone, somewhere will read them and be enriched.

          I’m still not positive of the format and just what I will be sharing. This is essentially an experiment. At least for the first few months. It may appear to be a unrelated hodge podge of posts for a few months until I settled on theme and format and schedule. I think that will work well, though. I can stop trying to formulate a series of posts on a particular topic, as I’ve been trying to do and post much more often. I can write the snippets of thoughts I have on cooking, writing, mothering, Bible study, relationships, husbands, church, being a friend, and so much more. In doing so, I can “find my feet,” so to speak . . . and find my audience, too.

          Stay tuned and come back often!

          I’m not a planner. I’m a live life in the moment type of person. I much prefer to take each day as it comes. Over my many years, though, I have had to learn the value of planning ahead. Without a plan, many of life’s dreams cannot be realized. Without a plan, super-duper opportunities are missed. Or never even considered. Without a plan, life can become stagnant and unfulfilled. A definitive downer for life in the moment.

          So out of necessity, I have learned to plan. Or, more precisely, I continue the struggle.
         
This blog needs a plan, doesn’t it? I’m trying to come up with one. Really, I am! I keep getting ideas, but then I realize the idea is all about talking about me. You don’t want that. Why would you want to come read me pontificating about me and my life? Even if I were the wisest person on earth (which I’m not) or the most famous (which I’m not) or the funniest (definitely not), you would soon get tired of reading about me. I need to offer you something of value and I need to do it consistently.
         
This is a case where the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak. I know that reviewing books and movies with biblical perspectives and observations is valuable. I want to write those. It takes time, though. Time to read the book, time to think about it and time to compile a review that is truthful and uplifting. I am writing them. (Well, at present, I’m reading and mulling over the stories. There are five to ten books waiting in my brain to have thoughts put words ) I just cannot sustain a blog with reviews, though. Even once-a-week reviews. So there has to be more than reviews to make you want to come read my ramblings.

          Since my goal is to encourage other Christians in their attempts to live a life consistent with what the Bible teaches, I think one aspect of this blog should be focused on Scripture. To that end, I’ve devised a plan for reading the Bible through in a year. Instead of starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation, I’ve arranged the books in combination format. I alternate periodically between Old Testament and New Testament while arranging each day’s readings as chronologically as possible within that Testament. Check out “Bible Reading Table” to see the entire plan.

          Reviews, Scripture readings and possibly some commentary on a day’s reading. That’s a good starter plan. I hope you find encouragement and inspiration in each and every post.

          I did it again, didn’t I? Posted a few regular entries and then disappeared. There’s a difference this time, though. I’m preparing and planning and will be posting soon. I’ve gotten my routines back into proper order and am defeating that procrastination monster as well as tackling the I’-m-so-overwhelmed-I’m-just-going-to-sit-down-and-cry feeling. There is still a lot on my plate, but not as much as before and not nearly as overwhelming. Re-establishing my routines has whittled away much of it. Readjusting priorities has eliminated some of it. And life transitions have taken care of the rest.

          I’m establishing a schedule of posts that should have me blogging here at least once a week. Come back next week to see what I have planned.

Matthew 2:19-23

          After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.

          But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Matthew 2:16-18

          When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” {Jer. 31:15}

Matthew 2:12-15

          And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

          So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” {Hosea 11:1}

Matthew 2:1-11

          After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi {Traditionally Wise Men} from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east {Or star when it rose} and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

          When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ {Or Messiah} was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” {Micah 5:2}

          Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east {Or seen when it rose} went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

          When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

Luke 2:21-40

          On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), {Exodus 13:#2,12} and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons”. {Lev. 12:8}

          Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.

          When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss {Or promised, now dismiss} your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

          The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.

          Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

          There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. {Or widow for eighty-four years} She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

          When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

Luke 2:8-20

          And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ {Or Messiah. “The Christ” (Greek) and “the Messiah” (Hebrew) both mean “the Anointed One”; also in verse 26.} the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

          Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.”

          When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

          When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

          The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.