Welcome to Tips & Tricks #9:
HOW TO MAKE EVERY SOCIAL GATHERING FUN
I like getting together with friends and I believe I’m pretty social! But I must say that sometimes I find it hard to enjoy hanging out in a party setting. I also really enjoy spending time with my husband, so to share him with a bunch of other people is undesirable to me. Here are a couple tips that help me maximize the amount of fun that can be had!
Welcome to Tips & Tricks #8:
SING HIS PRAISES…LITERALLY
One of the best ways to learn something is to sing it. Isn’t that how most of us learned our ABC’s? Creating an Anglican home consists of bringing the faith and the things of God into the home. We sing a lot of our Daily Office (Morning, Evening and Night Prayer). It helps me memorize the prayers and allows me to meditate on them. I find myself with the melodies stuck in my head and the words just naturally accompany the tune.
How do you know you’re saved? This question is a very commonly asked question among teenagers and young people in the Baptist tradition. The answer that is often given by a pastor or preacher is that if there was a day in their past that they prayed to accept Christ into their lives and they meant it, then they are saved.
There are a lot of issues with this approach to salvation. I would like to address some of them, and recommend you watch this video by Paul Washer, a Southern Baptist preacher, who addresses this issue directly.
Welcome to Tips & Tricks #7:
WHAT TO DOÂ WHEN EXPECTING
I remember reading several blogs about pregnancy when we first found out we were pregnant! Now that we’re looking back, celebrating 9 months of my daughter’s life, and I’m back to pre-pregnancy weight (and even starting to think about another baby), I’m stretching my memory to think back to life before her…but more specifically, life while she was still in the womb.
I’m probably going to list a bunch of stuff you’ve already read about being pregnant, but I guess this post is more for my future self; what I’d like to prepare for if and when we have the next one.
Welcome to Tips & Tricks #6:
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A DIAPER BAG
You’ve got to be kidding me…you’re blogging about a diaper bag? No joke here, and I’ll tell you why it’s important.
For at least 2 years of your life, you’ll no longer be carrying around a cute purse to match each outfit. You’ll be carrying around a diaper bag wherever you go. So you might as well pick out the best one and forget about how much it’ll cost you!
I struggle with anger and with lashing out. Thankfully, I tend to be quick to forgive and forget, and don’t hold grudges, but when my husband offends me or I think he’s attacking me (verbally), I go into fight mode. It’s not “fight or flight” for me–I always fight! I think the verse in Ephesians 4:26b, “…let not the sun go down on your wrath,” is a great excuse to just let out all the anger and wrath right before bedtime. However, I often forget the first part of that verse, “Be ye angry, and sin not:…” The key here is not sinning.
This post is a response to a previous post in which I talked about the Problem of Individualism in the Church. I claimed that Individualism has hurt the church, and I stand by that position. This post is a warning of the dangers of collectivism in the church.
When mentioning to our family members and friends how we are Anglican, we get a lot of confused looks and questions. Once they hear the word “father,” they think that we’re Catholic. Also, in conversations with friends who are wives of Anglican priests, they talk about getting flack for being married to a priest–thinking that all men who wear collars must be celibate! Well, this post is a little unpacking of the tradition of calling pastors ‘father,’ the clerical collar and the allowances of the men who wear them.
Welcome to Tips & Tricks #5
HOW TO VACATION BY CAR
We’ve been on the road for the last month! Yes, that’s right, we left our humble abode and went on a trip to a couple different cities from December 5th until today–January 2nd. I’d like to say that I’ve learned a couple things, so I’m sharing with you the tips and tricks I’ve picked up from this past month of traveling. Some things we kept in mind while traveling (and always in everything) are to stay within a budget, and to be efficient with space, packing, and physical effort.
What to bring when vacationing by car? This depends on the kind of places in which you’ll be staying. We were staying with our friends, relatives, and sometimes, in a home where the residents were absent (when we went to the Poconos and rented a cabin). If you are planning on staying in a hotel, you might not have access to a kitchen like we were fortunate to have. This really helps reduce the amount of money you would spend on food if you are able to cook for yourself.
The Anglican Mom 